


Endless, Echoing...

by Underneath



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Brief mentions of Avengers - Freeform, But not cannon, Conversations that need to be had, Couch Cuddles, Domesticity, F/M, Getting hot and bothered, Group Therapy, Ironman Snap, New Beginnings, New friendships and relationships, Peck on the Cheek, Personal Growth, Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, Second Chances, Slow Burn, Talking about loss and death, Thanos snap, The Swirl, close to cannon, post snap, that family feeling, the power of saying please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:40:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26789833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Underneath/pseuds/Underneath
Summary: Blue eyes. Eyes he hadn’t seen in years. Eyes he thought he’d ever see again... were pinning him to the spot.
Relationships: Frank Castle/Karen Page
Comments: 112
Kudos: 129





	1. Chapter 1

Something was off. Frank could feel it, in his body and in his head. He felt like an antenna, soaking up electricity from the air. His skin was prickling with it. 

Like dejavu.  The memory of a feeling that used to be familiar. 

Years ago, when he was at war, he’d felt like this. He’d always had this uncanny ability to know when something big was coming, to feel when an attack was imminent. _War Whisperer._ Whatever the hell it was, this ESP had saved his life more than once. But, all his wars were over. There was no danger. No threat. Not anymore. Today, something was just…  _ off. _

Either that, or he was turning into a paranoid, old, combat vet. Wouldn’t surprise anyone. 

Frank bit the inside of his cheek. He fought to clear his mind. To focus on the young man seated next to him, speaking soft, broken sentences. 

Frank looked down at his hands, knowing Troy would have an easier time talking it out if he wasn’t being stared at. The kid didn’t open up often, and Frank wanted him to say his piece. To get it all off his chest. To feel the relief that sharing a sad story brings, however brief the catharsis may be. Troy sniffed and cleared his throat, reliving the moments immediately after the Snap. He’d been sitting in his living room watching TV, when his little sister just started crying for no reason. He’d turned to scold her, to tell her to be quiet, but his voice had died in his throat as he saw her little hands reaching out to him. Her tiny fingers turned black, and just crumbled away. He’d looked over, horrified, to his mom. Or rather, to where she had been sitting just a second ago…

Troy’s voice broke. 

Everyone in the circle sat still in their folding chairs, wanting to give the young man time to gather himself and continue. But the silence stretched. The memory seemed to have swallowed him up. 

Frank’s gaze flickered over to Curt, whose eyes were trained on Troy. Curt was reading him, making absolutely sure Troy really didn’t have anything else to say before stepping in. 

“Thanks Troy.” Curt said.

“Thank you, Troy.” The rest of the group echoed, soft. Like saying “amen” at the end of a prayer. 

“Sharing these stories is hard work. But it’s important. For healing. For remembrance.” Curt said, looking around and making eye contact with as many of them as possible. “We’ve all lost a lot, but we’re still here. We have to live. Facing these memories helps us move forward.”

_ That’s right. _ Frank nodded in silent agreement. He leaned over to give Troy a supportive swat on the knee. Troy gave Frank a sniffly half smile.

Frank had known the kid for a few years now and liked him. Troy had been 16, just a boy when his entire family was snapped. Now, five years later, he was 21. A young man, living in New York on his own, working for some eco-tech company. He was doing good. He made Frank proud. 

“Does anyone else have something to share?” Curt asked, looking around invitingly. 

Christine raised her hand and everyone gave her their supportive attention. 

“I, um… I’ve actually met someone…” Christine blushed and ducked her head as she told the group about the woman she’d gone out with last weekend. 

Frank listened along, happy for her in a slightly dulled sort of way. Christine lost her wife in the Snap. She was beautiful and smart. She reminded him a bit of Sarah Lieberman with her mischievous eyes. 

Frank blinked back his small wince at the thought of Sarah. The memory the last time he’d seen her flashed in his mind. Her pretty face, red and puffy from crying, pressed into David’s neck as he rocked her. That had been a few weeks ago. The fifth anniversary of the Snap. David and Sarah had invited Frank over for that dark day to remember their kids. Leo and Zach. Both gone. Both disintegrated before their parent's eyes in that impossible moment. 

In all honesty, Frank hadn’t really wanted to go. Their pain resurrected his own. It was too much. But he’d forced himself to go anyway. He loved the Liebermans. If he could shoulder even the smallest bit of their grief, he’d do it. 

Frank squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to think on that right now. He should be paying attention to the woman sharing her story. He felt that small electric buzz in his skin again, like someone had just whispered in his ear. He shrugged it off, irritated at the feeling. When he blinked his eyes back open, Curt was watching him. Frank squinted back at him for a breath before turning his gaze to Christine.  The interaction was so subtle. No one else could have caught it, but for the two men who knew each other so well, they’d had a short, blunt conversation.

Curt had asked,  _ “You ok?” _

Frank had answered,  _ “I don’t need a babysitter, mind your business… Also, yes- I’m fine. Sorry I’m such an asshole.” _

Frank made sure to grab a few minutes with Troy when group ended. Once he was sure the kid was ok, Frank sent him on home with a light back slapping hug. 

“Want to grab a beer?” Curt asked, as they gathered up the folding chairs and hooked them onto the rolling rack. 

Frank had predicted this question. Curt could tell something was off. Frank wasn’t in the mood for Curt’s coddling. He deflected. 

“Nah. Sandra’s gonna whoop my ass if I keep you out late again.” 

Curt didn’t try to hide his grin as Frank mentioned the corpsman's girlfriend’s name. Curt and Sandra been going strong for a few months now. Frank had never seen Curt so wound up by a lady. He was toast. Fried. Long gone.

“I’ll have her whoop my ass instead. I may just enjoy that.” Curt joked. 

Both men laughed. Curt tried to keep his grin steady, but Frank could see the serious intent in his friend’s eyes.

“For real, Frank… you need to talk? Let’s grab a beer or something. Come over?”

“Can’t.” Frank breathed, as he hefted several chairs up onto the top hook of the rack. “Headed back in to work actually. Going over a few things with Murdock.” 

Curt nodded, but kept staring at Frank like he was x-raying him. Frank huffed. 

“I’m fine- alright? All day I’ve just had a feeling…”

Curt nodded, wanting Frank to elaborate.

“It’s not a bad feeling or anything. It’s that buzz that I get, you know. Electric. Like something’s happening, or about to happen…” Frank trailed off. 

Curt studied him. “Frank Castle’s sixth sense. I remember that, man. If you got that feeling… it means something.” 

Frank ducked his head and nodded. Curt’s opinion carried a lot of weight, reassuring Frank that he wasn’t quite as crazy as he feared he was sometimes. 

“Hell if I know what it means though.” Frank said.

“Well, if I know you,” Curt smirked, “you’re gonna find out sooner rather than later. Shit-magnet that you are.” 

… 

Frank waved off one last invitation for a beer before he headed back to Hell’s Kitchen. He drove, still unused to how empty the streets were even after these five years had passed. He stopped at a red light. His hands flexed on the steering wheel as he watched a few teenagers scurry passed him in the crosswalk, staying in a tight clump and whispering to each other. _Hell._ Seeing kids jarred him, like always. These kids were maybe, what… 13 or 14 years old? Post-Snap existence is all they’ll ever know. The thought stung. He didn’t want this for them. He didn’t want this for anyone. 

It was hot out. Frank wore a hoodie, but the hood was down. There was no reason to hide his face. If anyone ever recognized him as guy who used to be The Punisher anymore, no one gave a shit. The city, in fact, the entire human race, had too much to deal with to bother him, or care about the mess he'd made all those years ago. 

Frank thought back on those wild days. Those blood soaked memories. It felt like a lifetime ago. It felt like yesterday. He still carried all the pain, but the rage was gone. It was different now. Back then, he’d been bleeding out. A man at war with the world that just moved on after taking everything from him. But now? Now, the whole of humanity ached with him. The earth was cursed. Everyone, everywhere, limping through their days on broken limbs. 

The Punisher had vanished in the Snap right along with everyone else. 

Frank felt it in his bones, the moment he’d come to grips with what had really happened that day. The suffering was too widespread. The innocents who needed help were too many to count. Something cracked inside him. He knew he needed to focus the living, not create more death. 

So, Frank blended in among the survivors. He had his own tales of grief, and they all mourned together. He was no longer trapped in that loop of endless, echoing, loneliness. 

Frank felt that electric buzz in the back of his neck again as Karen’s words thunked in his chest. 

_ Karen. _

The familiar pain swelled up in his chest like a bruise. The loss of her was… Frank felt his eyes starting to sting. He shook his head, not sure what was going on with him today. This buzzing feeling, his emotions roiling. The thought of Karen shouldn’t make him cry- __ _ goddamn. _

He thought about her so many times every single day. He couldn’t help it. Especially with the choices he’d made, the life he lived now. Karen was built into his every day routines, almost like she was right there with him. 

Except that she wasn’t. 

Frank scrubbed at his eyes. He refused to arrive at the office all emotional. Murdock couldn’t see his face, but he’d sense it somehow, and while Frank and Murdock had gotten close over the years, Frank wasn’t looking for a shoulder to cry on. 

Frank pulled up in front of the butchershop. Murdock never had the heart to vacate the space. Too many memories tied him there, and now Frank was tied there along with him. 

It was always easy to find parking these days, and Frank always parked in this exact spot. Right behind what used to be Karen’s car. Her car hadn’t been moved in 5 years. After the first few months, it had been vandalized and stripped until it was just a shell of itself. But, as time went by, kids graffitied it, then local artists had gone through the neighborhood making memorials to the Snapped. The husk of Karen’s car was now a little garden, blooming with flowers in the front where the engine block used to be and out the back in the trunk. Big leafy green plants sprouted out all of the broken windows. Three years ago Frank made some space in the trunk and planted a tiny white rose bush. Now, the bush was a little wild and wooly, but the roses were thriving. His own private memorial to Karen Page. The overall effect was nice.

_ Karen would have liked this.  _

He shook his head. Frank didn’t really know if she would have liked it. They’d never had a moment for casual conversation and questions, like what her favorite flowers might be. They’d never gotten a chance to talk about things like that. They’d never gotten a chance for so many things. 

Frank sighed. He’d never know for sure, but he guessed she would have liked the little car garden based on the eclectic way she’d decorated her apartment. 

His eyes started to sting again. He missed her in ways he couldn’t even explain. They hadn’t had enough time. A lot of that was his own fault. He’d pushed her away, then- Snap. She was gone. One more regret. One more reason to wonder why the hell he always survived when so many better and purer things were lost.  But even in that respect, Karen was different. She wasn’t really gone. She surrounded him. She was his guiding light. Where the hell would he be now if not for Karen Page? 

Frank turned away from Karen’s old car toward the butcher shop. He paused, like he always did, in front of the little plaque near the doorbell that read ‘Nelson, Murdock, & Page.’ The ‘a’ in “Page” shined brassy and bright from Frank’s habit of touching her name whenever he entered the office.

He was just reaching out to brush his fingertips against her embossed name for the thousandth time- when he froze. Chills raced over his entire body. It almost took his breath away. That electric, chaotic feeling swept through him and before he had a chance to shake it off -  _ BANG! _ He jumped at the loud, metallic crunch of a car crash down the street. 

Tires screeched. 

Alarms went off. 

Frank’s head whipped around to find the source of the chaos, but his attention was immediately diverted by a woman’s frightened scream from an open window in the brownstone across the street. 

He took a stuttering step in that direction, but jerked back instantly, letting out a startled grunt of his own. 

A man.

Suddenly standing right next to him- out of nowhere.  _ Where the hell had he come from? _

Frank’s fists flew up defensively, but only took a second for him to register that the guy wasn’t a threat. The man looked distressed, near tears. 

“What’s happening?” The stranger whispered, looking terrified.

“What?” Frank squinted, not sure how to gauge this guy. 

“I don’t understand.” The man said, his voice getting louder, more distressed. “I don’t understand. What’s happening?” 

“Hey friend, calm down…” Frank said, his voice low and controlled.

Frank held up his hands, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.  This guy seemed like he was having a breakdown or something. Frank heard another scream from the apartment across the street, but couldn’t turn his attention away from the man, now muttering to himself, holding his head with both hands. 

“Where’s Jenny?” He whimpered. He slowly sat straight down on the sidewalk and started to cry. “What the hell is happening? Jenny...”

“It's ok, buddy…” Frank said, crouching down to get on the poor guy’s level. “We’re gonna find her, alright? What’s your-” 

Sirens pierced the air from all sides. 

BOOM. 

Frank’s heart started hammering. 

Up until this point, Frank's military training had kicked in, helping him keep a calm, clear head. But the sirens… they triggered something deeper. More primal. Fight or flight. He had to get  _ the hell out of there _ . 

Frank hadn’t been chased by the cops in years, but something was wrong here… he had to get out. Had to move. NOW. Couldn’t stick around and deal with this guy… Frank pulled his hood up, covering as much of his face as possible, and bolted for the butchershop. 

He was clumsy and fumbling. It took him two tries to get his key in the lock. He slammed the door shut behind him. Frank’s back was plastered to the door as he panted. His breath was choked. Lungs burning. He was shaking, covered in a cold sweat. 

_ What the hell was all that out there? _ It was like a dream…  _ what the hell was happening? _

Frank had never been so glad to be able to stand in the dark hallway at the back of the butchershop and shut the door on the chaos of New York behind him. He closed his eyes, trying to get a handle on his breathing. He listened to hear if sirens were getting closer. To hear if heavy booted footsteps were rushing toward the door. 

No one seemed to be coming, so- 

Frank’s head whipped toward the office. There was scuffling down the hall.  _ Murdock. _

The switch inside him flipped. Full fight mode- even though he knew Murdock could handle himself. Frank sprinted. He burst through the door ready to unleash hell, but… 

He stopped so fast it was like he’d smashed into an invisible brick wall. He gasped, choking on his own breath. His skin felt like he’d been doused with ice water, burning and freezing at the same time. 

Frank stared, open mouthed, at a struggle of three people, but... it wasn’t a fight. 

It was an embrace.

_ Holy shit. _

Frank couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was a head rush. His legs felt unsteady. He gripped the doorframe. 

_ Impossible…  _

She straightened slowly, still tangled in the arms of the other two. Turning slowly. He must be dreaming.  _ This can’t be real. _

Blue eyes. Eyes he hadn’t seen in years. Eyes he thought he’d ever see again... were pinning him to the spot. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think. 

She’s here. 

_ Please be real...  _

_ “...Karen?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Friends:) Thank you so much for reading!  
> I haven't written in a while and I feel a little rusty- but it's good to have thoughts and threads of stories floating in my head again. I don't really know where this story is going - but I've marked it Explicit because I know myself too well- haha:)
> 
> ::: NOTE ::: if you are a person who gets driven crazy by non-cannon stuff or factual errors with MCU story points- I think this story might drive you crazy - sorry! It'll be similar to cannon for Punisher and Daredevil characters- but not exact. And for other Marvel characters/stuff, I'm sure that this story will have a ton of discrepancies because I'm fuzzy with all of the Marvel timelines and plot points.
> 
> Thanks again so much for reading! I hope you enjoy:)


	2. Chapter 2

Karen shivered. 

Nothing made sense. She was covered in goosebumps. Her skin was extra sensitive, almost raw. But it didn’t matter, everything was ok… She was sure everything would click together soon. For the life of her- she couldn’t remember what had just happened. And then Matt was gasping and grabbing at her and Foggy, pulling them into a crushing hug. 

Karen hugged Matt back on instinct, trying to make sense of the moment. Did she just pass out? Had she said something to make Matt cry? He sounded like he was crying… _What on earth?_ She held Matt tighter, felt Foggy do the same. 

The door smashed open, but Karen wasn’t startled. The loud crashing sound was just one more part of this big, odd feeling. She looked toward the source of the noise. _What…_

Frank. 

He was here. Chest heaving like he’d just run a marathon. He reached up and dragged his hood away from his face. Frank was wide-eyed, mouth hanging open, brow screwed up. She’d never seen him look more alarmed. The expression barely seemed to fit on his typically grim face. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost.

“...Karen?” The way he breathed her name. It was a choked, mangled sound. 

He was upset. Another wave of confusion washed over her. Why was Frank here at the office? What was wrong with him? None of this made any sense- 

_Who cares. He’s here._

Karen gave Matt and Foggy another squeeze, then slipped out of their embrace. She approached Frank slowly, like she always did, knowing how easily he spooked. But he rushed her. He was across the room in a blink, and she was in his arms. Karen’s breath whooshed out of her as she hit the solid wall of Frank’s body. She wrapped her arms around his neck in wonder.

He’d never held her like this. With no restraint. He didn’t quite lift her off the ground, but his grip was tight. His big hands clutching her close, like he was afraid she might disappear. He was trembling. 

Karen's skin tingled. She was shocked, still floating in low-grade confusion about every single thing going on. Being pressed up against Frank definitely wasn’t making it any easier to think. Karen pulled back slightly to look at him. His dark brown eyes burned into hers. They were glassy. She brought her hand to his cheek without meaning to. The way he was looking at her… His eyes ricocheted around her face, cataloging everything, like he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

_What was happening?_ To Frank? To Matt? To her? _What was going on?_

“Frank.” She whispered. 

His eyes locked onto hers and finally settled. They breathed together. 

More shivers. 

Karen felt the burning need to say something, anything… but she was speechless. This whole thing felt like a dream, and she couldn’t remember how they’d all gotten here. Couldn’t remember anyth-

Noise behind her made both Karen and Frank turn just in time to see Matt falling to his knees. Foggy looked alarmed, pale as a ghost, and tried to catch him. Both men ended up in a pile on the floor. Matt was grabbing at his head. He looked like he might be sick. 

“Too much…” Matt groaned, wrapping his hands over his ears. 

Frank was moving in an instant. He let go of Karen, darted over into Matt’s office, and began rifling through Matt's desk drawers. When he found what he was looking for he hurried back and crouched next to Matt on the floor.

Karen watched, mystified, as Frank gently pried Matt’s fingers away from his head and covered his ears with the strangest looking headphones Karen had ever seen. They were black and gold, and looked like solid metal. Whatever they were, the effect on Matt was instant. He sighed in relief as Frank grabbed him under the elbows and lifted him off the floor, into a chair. 

Karen’s eyes darted to Foggy. He looked as confused as she felt, watching the scene between Matt and Frank. Matt was slumped in the chair as Frank crouched next to him. The men had their hands on each other’s shoulders… it was the strangest thing. 

“They’re back.” Frank said, low, almost like he didn’t want Karen and Foggy to hear. 

Matt nodded slowly. “I think they’re _all back._ I… I can hear them.” 

Frank exhaled, like he was winded. He and Matt turned to Karen and Foggy. Again, gaping at them like they were seeing ghosts.

Karen felt the sudden urge to cry. She couldn’t understand. She couldn’t remember. She felt so lost. 

Foggy flopped down in the chair next to Matt and threw his hands in the air. 

“What the hell is going on right now? I feel like I’m going crazy.” 

Foggy’s face was flushing a bright red. 

“I can’t remember… anything. I don’t know how I got here today… and _Frank Castle?_ How are you even here?”

Now Karen didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. What erupted out of her in that instant was a mixture of both. _Thank God-_ she wasn’t going crazy. Foggy was feeling the same as her.

Frank looked up at her, brow furrowed in concern. He was moving again, so fast she could barely turn her head to keep up with him. He pulled up a chair behind her. He touched her arm lightly, tipping his head at the chair, silently asking her to sit. Frank snatched his hand away from her the moment she complied. Then he was moving again, pulling up a chair near hers and offering her a box of tissues. Her fingers brushed his as she took the tissues, and again, he snatched his hand away.

As tightly has he’d held her a moment ago, Frank now seemed unable to bear touching her. It was so classically, frustratingly Frank-like. More tears sprang to her eyes.

“Matt- seriously…” Foggy leaned forward in his seat, looking dazed and frustrated. “What is happening?” 

“I don’t know.” Matt frowned, “I don’t even know where to start…” 

Matt was slightly flinching every couple of seconds, like the world was still way too loud despite the strange metal headphones. Matt looked at Frank for help. Karen and Foggy followed his lead, focusing on Frank as well. For a second, Frank's eyes went wide. Karen thought he might bolt. Frank took a few beats of silence, then set his shoulders.

“Alright. I have no goddamn idea how to explain any of this, but I want you to just… believe me, ok?” 

Frank’s eyes were flickering between Karen and Foggy. He looked as serious as she’d ever seen him. And vulnerable in a way that made her melt a little. He’d always had that effect on her. 

“Okay.” She nodded.

Frank’s eyes locked on hers. His eyebrow twitched. _Okay._

“About five years ago, you- both of you-” Frank’s eyes ticked back to Foggy, “disappeared.”

Frank let that sentence just hang in the air. Neither Karen or Foggy had any response. _What did he mean- disappeared?_

Frank shifted in his seat. “You two, and half of the population of the earth just vanished. Gone.” 

More silence. 

Foggy huffed a scoffing little laugh and looked to Matt, but Matt just nodded slowly.

Foggy blanched. “How?”

“We’re not really sure exactly how it happened.” Frank sighed, like this was a puzzle he’d tried to solve a thousand times and had failed. “But the aliens who attacked in the Battle of New York- they came back. And this time… this time they had a different type of weapon. They waged war. There was another battle, in Wakanda, and we… we lost.”

Frank’s voice cracked. Karen wanted to reach out and take his hand, comfort him. But her muscles had gone ice cold and stiff. What he was saying- it was impossible. This couldn’t be real. But the look on his face…

Frank cleared his throat, getting his voice back under his control. “The way the story goes, the enemy leader, Thanos, took the weapon, snapped his fingers, and half of the population of the world just- _didn’t exist.”_

Frank raised his hand, pressed his fingers and his thumb together and- SNAP. The small sound seemed to echo around them.

“Half the population of the entire world?” Karen whispered, horror struck. 

Frank huffed a frustrated laugh and shook his head. “If the stories are true- half the population of the entire universe.” 

Karen’s mind went numb. System overload. Half of the lives in the universe. Gone. 

And she was one of them. 

She felt her eyes getting hot. She looked to Foggy who was staring back at her with the same anguished shock, the same disbelief and confusion. 

“I felt it, the moment it happened…” Matt finally spoke, and his voice was haunted. “In a moment, half of the talking, the breathing, the noise, just stopped. We were here in the office, the three of us… and then your heartbeats were just- gone.” 

Suddenly, Karen had a flash in her mind's eye. She was sitting at her desk. The guys were each in their own offices quietly working. She looked down at her hands on her keyboard and- they were turning black. Flaking away like ash. 

Karen gasped, covering her mouth with shaking fingers, terrified at the ghost of a memory. “I think I remember…” 

Frank let out a little groan, he looked stricken. Foggy was blinking rapidly, like maybe his own memories were flooding back as well. 

“So, you’re saying five years have passed…” Foggy stated, still trying to find his footing on all of this insane information. 

“Yeah, Fog.” Matt said.

It was so hard to believe. The office looked exactly the same, Foggy looked exactly the same. But Matt, his hair looked different and he was too thin.

And Frank… Karen turned to Frank and studied him.

Last time she’d seen him was at the hospital. He’d been beaten all to hell, covered in cuts and bruises. There wasn’t a scratch on him now. His beard was full, but it was well kept, not wild like the last time she’d seen it. His hair was as fairly long... and there were wisps of silver at his temples. Karen scanned his face. Frank looked uncomfortable under her perusal, but sat still and let her look. She noted the lines set a little more clearly in his forehead than she remembered. He was as ruggedly handsome as ever but... he’d aged. It was clear. 

This was real.

“And now we’re back.” Karen murmured, almost to herself.

“Yes.” Matt nodded, still wincing every so often at noises no one else could hear. “I think everyone is. I can hear it. Feel it.” 

“Oh my God- _Marci!”_ Foggy shot out of his chair like a rocket. He started patting himself down, feeling his pockets. “Phone- I need a phone…” 

“Here - I have her number.” Matt said quickly, passing Foggy his phone. 

The three of them sat in silence and watched as Foggy jabbed at the phone with shaky fingers and began pacing. The phone rang for a while as Foggy bit at his nails, then he froze. 

“Marci?”

High pitched screaming was suddenly coming through the phone. Foggy’s face broke into a huge weepy grin even as he had to hold the phone away from his ear. Then, he was speaking in hushed, loving tones. Karen felt warm all over for the first time. Frank and Matt were smiling too, all three of them sharing in the sweet moment with Foggy. 

Frank jerked suddenly, pulling his own phone from his pocket. “I gotta make a call.”

“Lieberman's?” Matt asked, an understanding smile on his face.

Frank nodded and stepped into Karen’s office, closing the door for some privacy. Karen watched, nonplussed, at Frank’s apparent familiarity with the office. Her eyes went wide as she registered that the painted glass on her office door which once read “Karen Page”, now read “P. Castiglione, Investigator”. Her head whipped back toward Matt. 

“Who’s P. Castiglione?” She asked. 

“Pete Castiglione. It’s Frank.” Matt smiled. “Clean identity.”

“Frank works here? _With you?_ ” She blurted out in a rushed whisper. 

“Yeah- for years now.” He laughed softly, seeming amused and barely able to believe it himself. “Crazy, right?” 

“How the hell did that happen?” 

Matt shrugged. “He came here after the Snap. Looking for you, actually. Wanting to make sure you were ok.” 

Karen’s heart slammed into her ribs. _He came looking for me…_

“But you and Foggy, and so many others were just gone- and there was no explanation.” 

Matt winced again. Karen couldn’t tell if it was from the noise or the memories. 

“It's hard to even describe what those first few months were like. It was like… the end of the world. A nightmare everyone was just hoping they’d wake up from.” Matt sighed, leaning back in his chair. 

For the first time, Karen caught a few glimpses of silver in his hair as well. 

“Frank kept coming around. At first we were just working on your disappearances, like it was a normal case… like we could figure it out. _Solve it_.” Matt shook his head at the memory. “But after a while, everyone had to accept the fact that the Snap was real. And there was nothing we could do about it. And we just had to keep moving. There was so much chaos, I had so many cases. So many people needed help. And Frank… he just started carrying some of the load. Like you did when we first met. After about a year we made it official. Put his fake name on the door.”

Matt’s mouth tipped into a half smile. “Foggy’s office is bigger, but Frank wanted yours.”

Karen’s mouth was hanging open. She could barely believe what she was hearing. She was trying so hard to believe that five years had really passed. To her, it felt like she’d just been here at work yesterday. She felt like she’d seen Frank in that hospital only a few months ago. But _years_ have passed. And Frank and Matt were now friends, and co-workers. And Frank worked in her office. And his cheesy alias was painted on her door.

_...Holy shit?_

Karen was glad she was sitting down. All of this had her feeling a little woozy.

“He’s a PI?” She asked, fighting off a giggle for some reason.

“Yep. Turns out, hunting down all the people involved with his family’s death turned him into a hell of an investigator.” Matt tipped his head, charmingly. “Almost as good as you.” 

Karen laughed, shaking her head. _Unbelievable._

Frank emerged from the office rubbing at his eyes, but smiling. 

“Good news?” Matt asked, as Frank sat back down next to Karen.

Frank nodded deeply in that ‘yes and amen’ way of his that Karen remembered so well. He looked up, his dark eyes almost glittering. 

“Lieberman’s kids are back. Just came in from the yard, like they were outside playing this whole time...” 

A few tears escaped down his cheek. Karen reached out and took Frank’s hand. She didn’t have to worry if it was ok or not. The moment she touched him, he held on tight. His thumb rubbed slow circles across her knuckles. Karen’s skin was still feeling raw and extra sensitive. Frank’s touch sent sparks through her. 

He wiped his eyes with his free hand. “I didn’t want to keep David on the phone for long or anything. Just had to check.” 

Matt’s smile was wide. Karen remembered David Lieberman. How could she forget? He and Frank must be friends now. David had lost his children for the last five years, and now they’re back. Incredible. 

“That’s amazing.” Karen said, then squinted at him, teasing. “I bet they’ll be excited to see good old _Uncle_ _Pete.”_

Frank’s laugh burst out of him so unexpectedly that he almost choked on it. 

“Uncle Pete. Christ.” He huffed, squeezing her fingers a little tighter. 

They held each other’s gaze, smiling.

Karen couldn’t help it, she looked over his shoulder into her old office where he’d left the door open. It looked like he hadn’t changed a thing. Same desk, same furniture. Her photos and old articles were still on the walls. He’d even kept her plants alive. 

Karen turned back to Frank when his thumb stopped making circles against her fingers. He’d followed her gaze and was looking through the open office door too. 

“I never changed anything in there. Couldn’t.” He shook his head. “Actually, I like having all your stuff around.” 

Frank’s eyes flickered back over to hers and quickly away. He was biting the inside of his cheek, like maybe he was embarrassed about what he’d said. Karen’s skin kept tingling.

“It’s your office, though.” He said, quickly. “I can get my stuff out. Real quick. I’ll clear out-” 

Karen squeezed his hand to make him stop. “We’ll figure it out.”

He searched her eyes. Karen could see his chest filling up, like he really wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. They were all distracted by Foggy’s suddenly much louder voice.

“No- _no_ , you stay there. I’m coming to you.” Foggy finally stopped his pacing. “Just stay there. I’m on my way. I love you. _I love you._ I’m on my way.” 

He hung up the phone and raked his hand back through his hair. 

“I gotta go. I need to get across town… Oh God- I probably don’t have a car anymore. I’ll take the subway. Do you think my metro card still works? _Shit-_ do you think any of my credit cards still work?”

Foggy looked toward Matt in alarm. Karen felt her stomach sink, suddenly realizing right along with Foggy how difficult it might be to suddenly come “back to life” after all these years. Matt looked at a loss for words, but Frank leaned forward in his seat. 

“Subway’s not a good idea right now, Nelson. It’s gonna be chaos out there. Won’t be safe.” Frank said.

“He’s right.” Matt agreed.

Foggy glared at them. “I need to get across town. To Marci. _Now.”_

“Thank God,” Matt breathed, sounding oddly relieved for some reason. “Jess can take us.” 

They all looked at Matt in confusion, but suddenly a dark haired, blue eyed woman appeared in the doorway. Karen’s memory sparked. _Jessica Jones._ Karen remembered her from the mess at Midland Circle. 

Jessica scanned the room, looking over first Karen, then Foggy, before her eyes landed on Matt. Karen’s heart flipped a little in her chest at the way Jessica’s eyes softened.

“Well, look who’s Mr. Popular all of a sudden.” She smirked at Matt, who grinned and rose quickly. 

“Perfect timing. As usual.” He planted a quick kiss on her cheek. “Can we give Foggy a ride to Tribeca? He’s got a lady waiting on him.” 

“Absolutely.” She said, nodding to Foggy. “We’ll get you there as fast as we can, but it’ll be slow going. It’s a little wild in the streets right now.” 

Foggy nodded emphatically, looking hugely relieved. “Thank you.”

The three of them turned to Frank and Karen. Karen blushed as she watched Jessica’s eyes lock onto her and Frank’s joined hands, but she didn’t let go. 

“Karen-” Matt started, but Karen cut him off. 

“You guys go.” She said, encouragingly. “Don’t make Marci wait for one more minute.”

She and Foggy locked eyes, he was thanking her profusely without words. Matt turned to Frank. 

“I got her.” Frank said. His voice was dark and serious. It made Karen feel warm.

Matt swept over to Karen, pulling her up out of her chair into a bone crushing hug. Her hand slipped out of Frank’s as she hugged Matt back. Foggy collected a quick hug too and then they were headed down the hall with Jess calling, “Nice to meet you, Blondie. Later, Frank!” over her shoulder. 

And just like that, Karen and Frank were alone. 

They listened to the door thud shut down the hall. Frank rose from his seat. He seemed like he was intentionally trying to give her space, but that didn’t stop her from feeling completely surrounded by him.

It was surreal. They’d never really had a normal moment together, but this might’ve been the strangest one yet. The script was flipped. This time the world was in chaos and they were the ones standing still. This time she was the lost one who had been found. 

“You promise this is all real? I’m not dreaming?” She asked with a weak laugh.

“It’s real.” He confirmed, in that special, soft voice. 

She’d only ever heard him use that voice when he was talking about his family. His voice. His proximity. This entire situation- it was all making her head spin. Technical difficulties were rising like a tidal wave in the back of her mind, ready to crash down on her and sweep her out to sea. Karen could feel all of her thoughts starting to race. 

“I don’t even know where to start with...” She trailed off. “I don’t have a phone, or money, or- God- I don’t even have a place to live.” 

“Yes, you do.” Frank said, ducking his head to catch her eyes. “ _You do_.”

Karen stared into Frank’s dark gaze. Wondering, hoping a little, that he was saying what she thought he was saying.

She’d always been a fiercely independent person, to a fault even. But right now- she had absolutely nothing, and everything in her foreseeable future was complicated and crazy. She was scared and confused. She wanted to stay close to Frank. He always made her feel safe. Even when he’d been the most dangerous man in New York. 

Frank was searching her eyes, like he was reading her mind. Maybe he was. Maybe her desperation to be close was etched there plain as day on her face. She could feel her cheeks starting to burn. Frank squared his shoulders. 

“Karen, I don’t know what the hell’s going on. And I don’t want to impose, but…” He cut himself off, biting the inside of his cheek. He stared at his boots for a second before his eyes flickered up at her from under his brow. “It would mean a lot to me if I could just… take care of you for a while. While we sort all this out. Get you back to life. Back on your feet.” 

Karen felt weak in the knees with relief, and maybe something else she didn’t have the energy to analyze at the moment. She knew she was blushing like crazy. 

“Thank you, Frank.” She stared into his eyes, hoping he knew how very deeply she meant it. “That sounds really, really good right now.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Friends!   
> I'm definitely having fun with this premise:) Hope you enjoyed the chapter!   
> Thanks so much for reading and leaving some love here!


	3. Chapter 3

Frank locked the door to the butchershop as he and Karen stepped out onto the sidewalk. The entire world felt softened somehow. The sounds of the city were muffled, the light of the evening sky was mellow. Everything was gentle, and Karen was this glittering thing drawing the attention of every fiber of his being. The air hummed with her presence. Everything surrounding, everything external, felt good. Really good. Everything _ internal _ though, that was a bit more complex. Frank’s chest felt like it was full of bees. All of this was fucking crazy. He was nervous about what was happening. About what would happen next. About what she would think when he brought her home.  _ What the hell was she going to think?  _

“Oh my God.” 

Frank turned at the sound of Karen’s astonished voice. She was staring in disbelief at the flowery remains of her old car. 

“Is this my car?” She gaped. 

“Used to be.” Frank smirked. 

“Who did this?” She looked closer, tucking her hair behind her ear to smell some lilies that were blooming out of what used to be the front passenger-side blinker. 

“Local kids, mostly.” 

It warmed him up, watching Karen. He’d known she would like this. And she was here, in the flesh. Skirt, blouse, and all. She ran her fingers over the bright green leaves sprouting out the windshield. Karen sauntered to the back of the car peered into the trunk. Frank heard a happy little gasp when she saw the white rose bush. Her eyes darted to his, sparkling. She knew they were from him. 

“You brought me flowers?” She asked. Her smile was so pretty. 

Frank shrugged. He hoped to God his face wasn’t as red as it felt. 

“I’m an old fashioned kind of guy.”

They grinned at each other, traveling through time. Repeating things they’d once said to each other with the same nostalgia as if they were reciting lines from their favorite old movie. The longer they looked, the more riled up those bees in Frank’s chest started to get. 

He broke eye contact.  _ Coward. _

Frank distracted himself by looking down the street. The intersection was blocked by a pileup of cars, but there weren’t any more sirens or flashing lights. That mess wasn't going anywhere fast. He turned and looked to the other end of the street. Someone had loosened the fire hydrant. It was a hot summer evening and kids were playing in the streaming water. Looked like an impromptu block party going on down there. Made sense. What else were you supposed to do when heaven opened up and gave you back all your neighbors and loved ones? 

Frank looked at Karen. She was smiling, watching the kids playing and splashing in the street. 

“I don’t think we’ll be able to drive outta here right now.” He said, tilting his head to get her to follow him. “Looks like we’re walking.” 

When she reached his side he started leading them toward the party. They wouldn’t have a very long walk, the apartment was nearby. The buzzing in his chest started to sting.  _ Hell. _ He needed to rip the bandaid off. He had to just tell her and see what she would say. 

“Hey, ah- I need to tell you something.” He muttered, almost under his breath. 

“Hmmm?” Her eyes were still on the kids playing down the block. 

Frank stretched his neck from side to side.  _ Just tell her, idiot. _

“My apartment is-” He cleared his throat. “It’s your apartment.”

She turned to him, her smile uncomprehending. “What?” 

Frank flinched. “It’s yours. Your old apartment.” 

Karen stopped walking. Frank took a few more steps before turning around to face her. There was a memory of a smile on her face, but she mainly looked confused. Rightly so.  _ Goddammit.  _

Frank stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared at the sidewalk. He couldn’t look at her. 

“After it all happened, I looked for you. I went to your place, but you were gone.” 

His eyes darted to hers. Karen’s face was unreadable. He looked back down at his boots. 

“I started staying there. It was safe. And then, I started paying the rent because… Me and Murdock- we were trying to find you. To find everyone… to solve the big mystery. And I wanted you to still have a place when we brought you back.” 

Frank’s throat tightened up. He hated remembering those times. The immediate aftermath of the Snap. When everything was terrifying and nothing made sense. When the soundtrack of the city was only sirens and ringing phones and the sounds of weeping through open windows. 

“And when we knew, finally, that we were never going to find you, I just- I couldn’t let the place go. It reminded me of you. Felt like home.” 

Frank had never felt more exposed in his life. It felt like he was admitting he was in love with her, or obsessed with her or something.  _ Hell,  _ maybe he was? He didn’t know how to describe how he felt about Karen Page. He never had. Not when they first met, not when she vanished, and certainly not now, standing a few feet away from her on the sidewalk after five long years of being starved of her existence. 

He’d never allowed his feelings about Karen to fully form. Never let them crystalize into something solid. No, it had been much safer to keep them swirling in a haze, nebulous and intangible. 

Murky as it was, Frank still felt like he’d just shown her his hand, all his cards were on the table. She’d have every right to think he was some sort of psycho. Her apartment, her office, her friends- he’d really invaded her life. She should-

Karen’s arms were around his neck. She’d moved so fast, he’d hardly registered. His arms rose around her and clung tight on instinct. The world got quiet. He felt her breath on his neck. 

“Jesus.” She said over his shoulder. Her voice had a laugh in it. 

Frank loosened his hold a little, so he could get a better look at her. She was pressing her lips together, fighting her smile.

“You are a hard man to understand, Frank Castle.” She narrowed her eyes at him, like this was all funny.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered. Stupidly. Unable to believe that this was her reaction. 

She wasn’t glaring at him like he was some kind of stalker… She was ok with it? Just mildly confused? Amused? Frank felt like he was floating.

Karen let go of him and took a small step back, raking her hands back through her hair. She started walking again, able to lead the way now that she knew where they were going. He followed, still feeling wary. Karen bumped his shoulder with hers. 

“I kind of get it, you know.” She said, not making eye contact, keeping her gaze ahead. “When everyone thought Matt was dead, I didn’t want to believe it. I paid his rent for six months.”

“No shit...” 

Murdock never mentioned that.  _ Bastard. _ Gave him so much shit for moving into Karen’s place… 

Karen laughed. “But I mean, there’s a big difference between six months and five years. You’re way more crazy than I am.” 

Frank had to laugh too. “As if that was ever in question.” 

The closer they got the block party, the more crowded the sidewalk became. Karen tucked her hand under his arm, curling her fingers over his bicep. It felt good. They made their way slowly through the scene, soaking in the pure human joy of it all. Everywhere they looked people were embracing, gathering in the middle of the street and on each other's stoops in large clusters. They were happy, laughing, even singing. Some teenagers were lighting off small fireworks for the younger kids. Parents and grandparents were dancing on the sidewalks to music that poured out from the open windows of parked cars. 

The bliss of it all resonated in Frank. Down to his bones. He hadn’t felt anything like this in… it was a lifetime ago. Two lifetimes, really. He laid his hand over Karen’s on his arm, pressing her fingers even closer. 

Near the next intersection, Frank and Karen approached an older woman and a young girl carrying large buckets of cut flowers, speaking in rapid fire Spanish. The older woman was absolutely glowing. She smiled at Frank and Karen, asking a question he didn’t understand. Karen shook her head smiling, not understanding Spanish either. The little girl grinned up at them.

“Abuela is asking, which of you has reappeared?” The girl looked excitedly between Frank and Karen. 

Karen grinned and waved her fingers in the air. “Me.”

The abuela beamed at her. She set down her bucket of flowers and grabbed Karen’s face with both hands, planting a solid kiss on each cheek. Karen had tears in her eyes when the woman pulled away whispering a shaky _ ‘gracias’ _ and smiling even wider than before. The abuela pulled a pink flower from her bucket and handed it to Frank, speaking more joyful words he couldn’t understand. He looked to the little girl.

“A flower for your angel!”

_ His angel.  _ Frank’s chest tightened. He looked at Karen and handed her the flower. She took it, blinking at him. So pretty.  _ Goddamn.  _

Karen exhaled a  _ gracias _ for him as well. 

Abuela made a gesture. The little girl jumped up and down. “Kiss her! Kiss her!” 

Frank felt his ears start to burn, but didn’t stop himself from doing what he’d been wanting to do since the moment Karen had appeared in the office. All of this- the atmosphere, the music, the way Karen’s eyes were glistening… it was too perfect. Karen blushed, looking down at the flower, then back up at him, wide-eyed. Frank leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, right near the corner of her mouth. He sensed distant explosions in a far corner of his mind. He didn’t linger, retreating quickly at the sound of more words from the abuela. The little helper translated.

“Abuela says, this is your second chance, now you have to love each other twice as much.” 

Frank felt like he’d been kicked in the head. He had no idea what to say, but Karen rolled with it, laughing, “Si, si. Muchas gracias.”

The rest of the walk home was a blur, where Frank remembered the heat of Karen’s hand on his arm and absolutely nothing else. 

Watching Karen meander around the apartment had Frank feeling a little punch drunk too. 

Unlike the office, where he’d basically left her belongings untouched, here at home, he’d had to make some changes out of necessity. He kept most of her furniture, but had to lose the loveseat to make space for his weapons safe. He’d also ditched the dining table to create enough space for him to work out. He switched a few things around to make the most out of her kitchen as well. Other than that, he’d kept as much of her stuff as he could. Her art was still on the walls, her books were still on the shelves. 

He watched her examine the space, raising her eyebrows at a few of the new additions he’d brought in, and smiling at some of the things she seemed surprised he’d kept. Frank’s stomach tightened as she approached the bedroom. This, he felt, was his greatest violation. He’d donated all of her clothes and gotten rid of her cosmetics and things. A few months ago he’d finally gotten a new bed. A bigger one that did his battered body a ton of favors, but… was it weird? Or would it have been weirder for her to see that he’d been sleeping in her bed this whole time? 

He could only imagine what Karen must be feeling. To her, it probably felt like just yesterday this had been her home, and now it was all different. So much of her stuff was gone. His stuff was everywhere. He was everywhere. Frank watched from the bedroom door as she spun slowly in a circle, taking everything in, her gaze eventually landed on the big bed. He wished he could read her mind. He hated not knowing what she was thinking. This whole thing made his skin crawl. 

“Listen, Karen- I can’t even imagine what it’s like seeing all of this. After everything you’ve had to deal with today…” 

He shook his head. It was too much. 

“You know what? This is your place. I never even took your name off the lease. I can clear out of here ASAP. Give you your space back. Don’t even worry about it.” 

Frank sliced his hand through the air.  _ Done deal.  _

He turned to head back to the kitchen, but Karen called to him.

“Frank, no. That’s not what I want at all.” She ran her hands back through her hair, piling it all to one side. “This is your home now. I actually - I’m really lucky that you kept as much of my stuff as you did. It's crazy, I look around and it really feels like this is  _ our  _ place.” 

She huffed out a little laugh, tucking her hair behind her ear. Frank was finding it hard to look away from her for any amount of time. 

“Things are going to be so crazy for a while, you know? I won’t be able to pay rent or even buy food until I can somehow get my life back online. And logistics aside, Frank…” She looked him straight in the eyes. Frank felt it down to his toes. “ _ All of this _ is just really insane, and the thought of having you close is…  _ good. _ More than good.” 

Small, electric charges up and down his spine. She wanted him to stay. She wanted him close. 

Frank nodded at Karen like he was signing a contract. “Ok.” 

She sighed in relief and smiled. “Ok.” 

That settled, he was starving. And Karen literally hadn’t eaten anything in five years. He needed to get her fed. 

Frank pulled together their dinner while Karen sat at the kitchen island and pelted him with questions. The reporter in her seemed to have come wide awake with her first few sips of wine. Frank tried to bite back his grin at her excited _‘_ _ ooo thanks’ _ every time he topped off her glass.

Karen wanted to know about his day-to-day. She was prying for details on what it was like working alongside Murdock. It made him laugh. He understood why him and Murdock teaming up was blowing her mind. 

Then, he told her about group with Curtis, and the folks he’d come to know and care about, and his shock at somehow becoming a leader there. Karen scoffed when he said that. She said he’d become a leader in any environment he was in. That it was in his nature. Frank felt filled up by that. Proud and grateful for her confidence in him. Karen always expected the best from him, no matter how many times he’d disappointed her. 

Her questions just kept coming, and Frank was never one to enjoy being grilled, but tonight he didn’t mind. Not one bit. He loved it. He wanted to tell her everything. It was so damn good to have someone to talk to over dinner. To share with. He was drinking, but Frank knew the buzz he felt had nothing to do with the wine. It was Karen. Their connection. His soul had been starving for so long, and she was a feast. She was making him feel so damn human. He wanted to just grab her, and kiss her. He tried to shove that shit as far to the back of his brain as he could. Tonight was a night to enjoy something good, not to find quick new ways to fuck it up. 

He gave Karen updates on Madani, now in Yemen, and Amy, now in Alabama. Karen was tentatively curious to know how many people he’d lost in the Snap. Frank clicked his tongue and shook his head. Frank hadn’t had many people left to lose at that point. Losing the Leiberman kids had been a terrible blow, but his greatest loss had been Karen. The look in her eyes when he said that...

Frank could feel her tip-toeing around asking if he was in a relationship, but she never outright asked. She didn’t really need to. His answers about everything else made it clear that there wasn’t anyone. She was a good enough investigator to read between the lines. 

One thing she wasn’t tiptoe-ing around was The Punisher, and the last time they’d seen each other. She was steering clear of the entire subject. Frank kept waiting for her to bring it up, but she didn’t. It was like she didn’t want to spoil their fun, and he was more than willing to let it slide. Hell, he was having a grand old time talking with Karen, making her laugh, watching her face light up when he said something shocking. Why spoil that with bringing up all his old bullshit? He hoped she never thought about it ever again. He tried not to. 

And anyway _ …  _ Karen was so beautiful as she smiled, as she ate, as she stared at him wide eyed, wrapped up in his stories. Once the bulk of his personal life was covered, she moved to New York news and global politics she’d missed. Frank wished he had some miraculous story to tell, like - the survivors of the Snap laid aside their differences and focused on building a better world… no more violence, no more war, kum ba yah… but unfortunately, that was far from the truth. Wars continued. Crime never ceased. 

One bit of light he could lean into was that the global leadership and generosity of Wakanda had pretty much saved the world from tearing itself apart. Wakandan leaders held the world together. Their technology, resources, and influence were everywhere. They were the source of hope the rest of the world had found in these last five years.

Karen ate it all up, thirsty for knowledge as ever. She finally grew a little quiet as she shooed him out of the kitchen and started doing the dishes. Frank could practically see the gears turning in her head has she processed all of the new information. 

He headed to the couch and turned on the tv. He’d been itching to check the news for hours, but conversation with Karen had been too good to interrupt. Global news was scrolling by on a ticker along the bottom of the screen. 

“79 countries confirming mass Reappearance… Former British PM has Reappeared in the kitchens of 10 Downing Street… Instagram post confirms Reappearance of Beyonce…”

Above the ticker streamed videos of families and friends reuniting, of people dancing in the streets. Security camera footage of people just appearing in stores, parks, and restaurants. It was insane to see. It looked like a camera trick. 

Karen joined him on the couch and they watched together. Live interviews of husbands and wives finding each other, parents and children reunited, and urgent family members shouting information at the news cameras in hopes of helping their loved ones find them… it was a lot to take in. 

There was a battle between energy and fatigue going on inside him. Frank had felt more emotions today than in the last several years combined. And these interviews and reuniting videos- they were killing him. A sniffle had him looking over at Karen who was fully crying happy tears from watching the touching scenes on tv. The sight of her tears is what finally made his own fall. They sat a long time, watching and shedding tears together. 

Frank grew more aware of Karen with every trembling breath she took. He wanted to reach out to her. To hold her and comfort her. He wanted the comfort she’d give him right back. But it felt… too heavy. He was hyper-sensitized to the fact that they were alone. Really alone. He wondered at what she must be feeling. The way he was feeling right now… If he touched her, he had no idea what would happen. More importantly, he had no idea what  _ should  _ happen. He felt trapped inside his own skin. 

Something on the screen snapped him from his over analysis of  _ to touch or not to touch _ . He grabbed his phone from his pocket and held it out to Karen. 

“Can’t believe I didn’t think of this before. Do you need this? Need to call anyone?” 

Karen smiled at him but just shook her head and looked back to the tv. Frank frowned. He knew her closest friends were Murdock and Nelson, who already knew she was ok. But there wasn’t anyone else? Back when she’d vanished, he’d looked into her family. He knew she’d lost her mom and brother, but her dad was still alive. When Frank hadn’t been able to reach him all those years ago, he figured Karen's dad must have been Snapped. But, if that was the case- it meant he’d have reappeared today, just like her.

“You sure?” Frank asked, offering the phone again. “You’re dad is up in Vermont, right?” 

Karen looked at him, startled. Frank instantly knew he’d fucked up. Her pretty blue eyes that had been brimming with happy tears suddenly went dull. She searched his face. Frank sank further into the couch, wanting to apologize, but not trusting himself to say anything that wouldn’t make things worse. 

“My dad…” Karen’s voice was soft and clipped. “My dad won’t care if I’ve reappeared.”

She turned determinedly back to the tv, trying hard to pretend that the tears streaming down her face now were the same as the ones she’d been shedding before. But Frank knew.  _ God  _ he knew. Why the hell had he opened his big mouth? Of course Karen would have asked him for his phone if she’d wanted to call someone.  _ Idiot.  _ What the hell was going on with her dad? What kind of a father wouldn’t want to know that his daughter was back? What the hell-

_ Doesn’t matter now. _ It’s none of his business. 

His business was the woman sitting next to him. The one who he’d just made cry. Fucking asshole. He had to do something.

“Hey.” 

He reached out and lightly grabbed at her fingers. Karen sniffled and looked his way out the corner of her eye. 

“C’mere.” 

This time he pulled at her elbow. Karen’s face crumpled, a few fresh tears fell, and he thought she might push him away. But instead she crawled across the couch and curled up under his arm.

Not close enough. 

Her skirt made it a little hard to maneuver, but he kept pulling at her until her legs were draped across his lap and her head was tucked into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. 

“I’m sorry.”

Karen started to shake her head, but he shushed her. 

“Shh. Shh. Shh. It’s ok.” He ran his hands over her arms and back. “I gotcha.” 

Frank felt her shake a little with bottled up tears. He felt their heat on his neck. His hands ran up and down her arms and back. He let her cry. Before he knew it he was planting kisses into her hair at her temple. His heart aching. His body lit up from all the contact. 

Frank was happy to hold her for as long as she needed. More than happy. But still, it was definitely a relief when he finally felt her relax and melt into him, cried out. He knew he didn’t need to say anything. The news played on and they kept watching with interest, but their emotions were less raw now that they were wrapped up together. 

‘BREAKING NEWS’ flashed across the screen. The news anchor appeared at her desk, stern and intense.

“Breaking News here at the end of this momentous, historic day for mankind. We’re headed now to upstate New York at the location of what once was an Avenger’s training facility, the scene of what will be recorded in the history books as earth’s greatest victory. We’re going live for a global press briefing from the recently Reappeared King T’Challa of Wakanda.” 

“Holy shit.” Karen gasped. 

Whatever haze had settled over him in the last half hour was zapped away. Frank was wired. This was something big.

King T’Challa’s image filled their screen. He was standing in what could only be described as a wasteland. Behind him, was a battered looking crowd. Frank couldn’t make out who they all were. Hulk was most easily identifiable, and a few others were obviously not human, but it was hard to identify most of them. Even so, Frank knew they were. The Avengers, and their allies. They were the heroes who’d made all this possible. They’d saved the world. 

“Hulk looks hurt.” Karen whispered. 

Frank looked closer. She was right. Hulk's arm looked charred and broken. Frank shuddered.  _ What in the hell was capable of injuring the Hulk like that?  _ He scanned the crowd again, looking for Tony Stark, but didn’t see him. Odd. Usually Iron Man would be pretty close to front and center. Frank re-focused on King T’Challa who’d taken another step forward, Captain America at his side. 

“Brothers and Sisters, what you see behind me is the alliance, brought together from the far corners of the universe to fight for the cause of life itself.”

The King spread his arms wide. 

“What you see all around us is the battlefield, where we stood our ground. This scarred earth, a symbol of great sacrifices made, the heavy losses suffered.”

The camera shot shifted so they could still see the King speaking in a small square in the corner, while rest of their screen was filled with aerial footage of a massive battlefield. Craters and scorched earth as far as the eye could see. Land wrecked and ruined, still smoldering from the ferocity battle.

The image gave Frank chills. He felt Karen unconsciously make a fist in his shirt right over his heart. 

The news flipped back to the shot of King T’Challa and Captain America. The King reached out and placed his hand on Captain America’s shoulder. 

“And what you see here,” he gestured between the Captain and himself, “are brothers. One, a survivor, who’s been fighting every day of these last five years to save this world, and one, Reappeared after being stolen from existence. Only together were we able to fight back the forces of madness and death. Only together were we able to win. And only together will we be able to rebuild this world and make all of our sacrifices mean something.” 

King T’Challa bowed his head, crossed his arms in front of himself in the traditional Wakandan fashion, and turned away. Captain America followed. The clustered reporters called their names and shouted questions, but the King and the Captain had no further comments. 

The screen flashed back to the anchorwoman who was already in full flow recounting and commenting on the King’s speech. 

Frank hit mute. Needing a minute to soak in everything they’d just seen and heard. The King hadn’t given them all the answers Frank desperately wanted, but what they knew for sure was that  _ they’d won _ . 

“My God.” Frank breathed, feeling exhaustion hit him out of nowhere. 

Karen nodded against his neck. They sat a while longer. Karen eventually realized that she’d been holding his shirt in a death grip. She released her fist and tried to smooth his shirt out. Frank’s pulse pumped at feeling her fingers running across his chest. 

“I’m tired.” She murmured. 

He grunted in agreement. They disentangled slowly and stood. 

Karen had literally nothing, so Frank grabbed her a tee shirt and sweatpants. They were big on her. Frank tried to ignore the heat in his belly at the sight of her wrapped up in his clothes. She was standing in the little hallway between the bedroom door and the bathroom, looking at him for direction. 

This was the moment that had been tapping at the door of his anxiety since they’d arrived at the apartment hours ago. He hoped she wasn’t too mad that he’d tossed all of her stuff, even her bed. He hoped she still felt like this was her place. Like the bedroom was hers. 

“You need anything else? Really, you should consider anything in this apartment yours...”

He was nervous, about to start rambling if he didn't stop himself real quick. 

“Take the room, Karen. I’ll crash out here.” 

She gave him a little smile. “Ok.”

Frank nodded, moving to take some of the extra cushions off the couch to give himself more room to sleep. 

When he looked up again, she was still standing there. She hadn’t moved. Just watching him. His chest tightened. 

“Need something?” He asked.

She tilted her head to the side. “This is your apartment. I don’t want you to have to sleep on the couch.”

Frank held his arm out, like he was warding off her politeness. “No, Karen - come on. The place is yours-”

“Ok, but…” She sighed, looking a little frustrated.

Frank felt a little flip in his gut. He would fix whatever was wrong, would give her whatever she wanted.

“Today has been-  _ a lot.”  _ Her cheeks were turning a little pink as she spoke. “It would be nice- it would mean a lot, to have you… closer.” 

Frank swallowed on a dry throat. She was looking at him. Asking him. _ Just come closer. _

He nodded at Karen and took slow steps across the living room, meeting her in the bedroom doorway. 

She mouthed the word ‘thanks’. She smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Friends!  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

“Dammit.” Karen hissed, snapping her hands away from Frank’s laptop like it’d zapped her.

She kept accidentally touching something that closed all the windows she had open, but for the life of her she had no idea what it was. The subtle changes in keyboard design that she’d missed over the last five years were a real pain in the ass. The main keys and alphabet remained pretty much the same, but now there were touch panels along the top and sides and she had no idea how they worked. Karen kept bumping something and all the windows she had open would disappear. So annoying. She wanted to throw the computer across the room. But, Frank probably wouldn’t appreciate that very much. 

He’d been gone for longer than she expected, but she didn’t blame him.

They’d been sitting at the kitchen counter finishing up a late breakfast, when Frank’s phone rang. It was Sarah Lieberman. Frank lit up. He bit the inside of his cheek, kind of like he was trying to reign in his smile, but it hadn’t worked. Karen tried not to stare. The look on his face was too special. 

The apartment quiet and Karen was able to hear the gist of the conversation.  _ Everyone wanted to see him. Could he come over?  _

Karen watched Frank weighing it out in his head, maybe not wanting to ditch her on her first day “back”, but she caught his attention with a wave.  _ GO,  _ she mouthed at him. When he hesitated, she nudged his knee with her foot. 

“Go on, _ Uncle Pete,”  _ she whispered.

Frank threw her a look that was probably meant to be a scowl, but he couldn’t quite pull it off with the smile still trying to fight it’s way from his mouth. He told Sarah he was on the way. 

Frank was a whirlwind around the apartment before he left. He tapped a code into his giant safe and the door swung open. It was filled with guns, ammunition, and a lot of high-tech gadgets that had Karen staring, wide-eyed. He reached into a container, pulled out a phone, and powered it on. Karen grinned as he handed it to her. It was definitely convenient to have reappeared here with Frank, who just happened to have an stash of prepaid burner phones ready at a moment’s notice. 

The phone buzzed in her hand. 

“The code to the gun safe, and my number.” He said, distractedly, his mind already headed off elsewhere. 

Karen sat on her kitchen stool trying not to smirk. She rotated around, watching Frank circle the apartment, pointing out anything she might want or need. Toothbrush, towels, first aid kit, tv remote, his laptop, coffee… he even pointed at the refrigerator and said, “The fridge”, as if she might need help finding it. 

Karen laughed, she couldn’t help it. He was frowning, striding around the apartment, kneading his hands while his eyes scanned the place for the boogeyman. Frank’s version of fretting over her was so stern and serious. 

The sound of Karen’s giggle made him stop in his tracks. He huffed a self deprecating laugh, nodding and scratching the back of his neck. 

“Too much, huh?” 

“No, I appreciate it-” Karen grinned, “but just so you know, I’ll be ok. I’ve been allowed to stay home alone for years now.”

Frank smiled, rolling his eyes at her. “Smartass.” 

He reached for his jacket and shrugged it on. 

Despite what she’d just said, and the fact that she’d told him to go, Karen suddenly felt a pang in her chest. Like she didn’t want him to. A muscle memory, maybe, from every time they’d ever parted. A flashback of always worrying she’d never see him again. 

She hopped off her stool and crossed the room, ambushing him with a hug before he’d fully gotten his hands through his sleeves. His arms floated up around her. His hold started out light, but tightened as he realized she was holding on. She wasn’t ready to let go. 

They swayed. He felt so solid. 

When she was able, Karen relaxed her hold around Frank’s neck just enough so she could look at him. His gaze was floating all around her face, only meeting her eyes for the briefest of moments. Maybe this was too much for him. She should give him space.

“Be careful out there.” Karen breathed, releasing him and stepping away. 

Frank nodded, letting his arms drop to his sides. His trigger finger was twitching. 

“Oh shit-” He said. His brow furrowed. “I only have one key… I could leave it with you if you want. I’ll call you when I’m on my way back. In case you're out?” 

Karen looked down at herself, still dressed in Frank’s baggy clothes. She had nothing to wear, no money, and no plan of how to get her life back. She looked back at Frank. 

“You can keep the key. I don’t think I’m going anywhere right now.” She raked her hand back through her hair. “All I want to do is get on your computer, learn more about the last five years, and figure out what Reappeared people are supposed to do with themselves.” 

Frank nodded again. “Okay.”

Neither of them moved. 

“It’s hard to leave.” He said, looking at the floor. 

“I know what you mean.” She said. 

She did. How many times had they lived this moment? Parting ways with an ache they could barely understand… 

Frank’s eyes finally flickered up to hers. They were dark and intense, and if she was reading them right, a little guilty. They were both thinking about the same things. Remembering all the times they’d said goodbye, especially the last time, the most bitter of all. Frank winced. He looked like he was going to start saying something- an apology maybe- but that isn’t what Karen wanted. Not right now. Not while he’s headed out the door.

“Have a really good time, Frank.” Karen headed him off, smiling so he would understand. “I’ll be here when you get back.” 

He looked relieved.  _ Good grief. _ He was so damn easy to read. 

“Alright.” He said. 

Frank turned and headed to the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob, looking over his shoulder like he was double checking that she hadn’t disappeared again. 

“Bye, Karen.”

Karen watched the door close, listening as Frank locked up from the other side. Everything was always a swirl when it came to Frank. Here she was, instantly enjoying the relief of being completely alone so she could think clearly, but also anxious for him to come back. 

She needed a shower.

Karen tipped her head back under the hot spray of the water and tried to prioritize her thoughts for the day, but it was no use. Every thought bent and spiraled back to Frank. She couldn’t help it. This was all so  _ insane.  _

Before the- it still felt weird to say it…  _ Snap _ , the last time they’d spoken was such a disaster. 

Karen went to the hospital, wanting to help, wanting to be there for him. She told him how she felt, in the best way she could. She laid out the truth. The truth that she’d barely been able to admit to herself. She _gave_ it to him. 

And, he’d handed it back. 

He’d looked tortured and torn in that classic Frank way that made her want to weep, but he was clear. 

_ I don’t want that. _

_ You gotta walk away, Karen. _

That painful memory was literally their last moment together, and now… 

Lord. 

She was glad they hadn’t tried to deal with this particular drama last night. Yesterday… there had been way too much to take in. The reunion had been too sweet to spoil. It had been easy to let it all slide, to stay instinctual and in the moment. He’d been so gentle with her, so sweet. She’d just wanted to enjoy it. 

Karen hadn’t really had a plan last night when she’d asked him to come closer, to sleep in the same bed. She hadn’t been hoping for something sexual... nor was she warning herself against the possibility. All that time on the couch in his arms, all the comfort of his presence, his hands on her, it just had her feeling really… open. Open to whatever. Wanting whatever he was willing to give. 

He’d been a gentleman.

Karen watched him with her head on the pillow that smelled so much like him, already under the covers. The shirt he’d changed into stretched across his back as he leaned to turn off the lamp. He slid under the sheets on his side of the bed. 

Frank didn’t reach for her. He left a wide berth of space between their bodies. But, his dark eyes roamed all over her in a way that wasn’t quite as polite as the rest of his old fashioned manners. They laid facing each other and Karen just let him look. As long as he wanted. She might have heard him rumble a  _ goodnight, Karen… _ but it could have just as easily been a dream.

They’d woken up in a tangle. Karen’s head was on his chest. His arms were wrapped around her and one of her ankles hooked over his. Frank’s hand, gliding up her back as he stirred awake, woke her along with him. They froze. Dazed and surprised. Absorbing it all. Karen was too drowsy and felt too good to over analyze it. 

She lifted her head off his chest and blinked her eyes open lazily, smiling at him. 

“Hi.”

Karen felt Frank’s chest deflate as he sighed. He reached and tucked her hair behind her ear, giving her a sleepy uptilt in his lips. “Hi.” 

And it was easy as that. That was the thing about her and Frank. Everything with them had always been so complicated, and at the same time, so very easy. It was chemistry. They were in sync. Connected. And they both knew it. That day in the hospital, Frank had said he didn’t want it, but he hadn’t denied what was there. Neither of them could do that. Not five years ago, and not now.

Karen sighed, the sound echoed a bit in the shower. They’d have to talk about how they’d left things eventually. Right? They couldn’t just pretend that the last time they’d seen each other never happened. 

This was all so confusing. She’d literally just come back from the dead and had about a thousand important things to do and figure out, but here she was, lingering in the shower, ruminating over a guy. She felt like an angsty teenager, but what could she do when her reactions to Frank had always been so strong, and _ now?  _ It felt like she was missing some part of an elaborate riddle.

She’d told him she was in love with him. Not in those exact words, but… he knew.  _ He knew. _ And if he didn’t want her, why had he come looking for her after the Snap? And moved into her house? And her office? And all of it?

Frank Castle was confusing as hell. She rolled her eyes. That was at least one thing that hadn’t changed in the last five years.

Karen finally got out of the shower, then decided to wash her one and only pair of underwear by hand in the sink, and laid them out to dry on the edge of the bathtub. Looked like she was going commando today. She got dressed in her pencil skirt, but wore Franks tee shirt on top and tied it in a knot at her waist. 

Karen made a little nest for herself on the couch, turned on the news at a low volume, opened up Frank’s laptop, and the next thing she knew- hours had flown by. Despite sabotaging herself every so often by hitting whatever it was on the keyboard that made all of her windows disappear, Karen’s head was spinning with everything she’d learned.

She’d started out by looking for local news, updates or instructions for Reappeared New Yorkers… How to begin the process of re-documentation? Where to find resources for immediate help with finances? Housing? What was the official state and federal response to this sudden population overload?

So far, there wasn’t much to learn. Food banks were slammed. Actual banks were shuttering their doors because a few instances of violence had broken out with Reappeared folks demanding access to accounts that no longer existed. Several major hotel chains and all Stark Industries properties, were opening their doors to the Reappeared to provide temporary housing until a more permanent solution was sorted out. Messages from the Mayor and the White House were vague and unsatisfying. Karen tried not to be too frustrated, this was an unprecedented circumstance and the world hadn’t even had 24 hours to grapple with it yet. Plus, her situation was so much easier than so many other people’s. She was in her own apartment. She was with someone who wanted to take care of her, who made her feel safe. 

Frank’s face floated to the top of her mind. They way he’d looked at her when he’d asked her to let him take care of her…

Karen’s hand must’ve slid over the devil key again- her window disappeared.

“Oh my  _ God.” _ She groaned. 

She opened up a new window. The cursor blinked for a while in the empty search bar… what else did she want to look up?

She’d already caught up with both Matt and Foggy, but now another man’s face came to mind. Serious and penetrating and challenging. Ellison. Karen was itching to reach out, but… even before the Snap, they hadn’t been on speaking terms. Their last moments together had been so cold, so devastating. After he fired her, there had been radio silence on both ends. What was left to say? He’d been a mentor and friend, and whether or not she liked to admit it, a sort of father-figure. Losing him had cut deep. The pain of missing Ellison sharpened suddenly. It was like a blade in her ribs.

If there was ever a hope for second chances, it was now. 

Karen bit her lip.  _ Try.  _ She looked up the Bulletin’s website to make sure the number hadn’t changed. There. Right at the top of the Staff page, was Ellisons photo and office number. Karen knew him well. She was 99% sure he’d be at work today, even if the entire rest of the staff had taken the day off to celebrate the Reappearance… Ellison would be there searching for the story behind it all. 

_ Try. _ She told herself again. There will never be a better time. Her heart rate sped up. 

She dialed his number. It rang. And rang. And rang. 

Karen’s stomach sank a bit as she accepted the fact he wasn’t going to answer. The automated message started playing in her ear, asking her to leave a message.

*Beep* 

“Hi Mitchell. It’s Karen.” 

Her voice was a little shaky. She didn’t really know what she wanted to say. 

“Karen Page, I mean. I’m… well, I’m  _ back, _ and I just wanted to-”

She heard a scuffling sound on the other end of the line. 

_ “Karen?”  _ It was him. He sounded stearn as ever, but definitely surprised.

Karen’s eyes started to sting. 

“Hi.” 

“God, Karen. It's good to hear your voice.” 

“It’s good to hear yours, too.” She smiled into the phone. “Are you- how are you?”

He harrumphed. The shock already leaving his voice, back to brass-tacks-editor mode. It warmed Karen’s heart. 

“How am I? I’m the editor of a struggling newspaper, alone in the office during the most insane news cycle the world has ever seen. I’m fantastic.” He deadpanned. “Who cares how I’m doing- how are you? Where are you?” 

Karen sniffled through a little laugh. “I’m ok. I’m here in town- staying with a friend, trying to wrap my head around all of this.”

“Do you need anything? Are you safe?” 

She could just picture his brow furrowed. How he’d be looking at her intently over his glasses if they were in the office together. 

“Yes. I’m safe. I’m really lucky actually. I reappeared with a bunch of friends close by.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, still shocked at her own good luck at her reappearance. 

“That’s good.” He said.

There was a brief lull in their back and forth. Karen wanted to keep their conversation going so badly. It was so damn good to hear his voice. 

“Are you working on a story already?” She asked. Knowing getting him going about a story was the best way to keep him talking. 

“Of course I am. And I just had a breakthrough.” 

“Oh great! What’s that?”

“You’re going to write it.” He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

All of Karen’s thoughts suddenly had fender benders with themselves. “...What?”

“You’re my only reporter who was Snapped. It has to be you.” He said. It sounded like he was shuffling papers around on his desk. “How soon can you come into the office? We should walk through our approach.” 

Karen still couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He wasn’t joking… 

“Ellison, I’m not a reporter anymore, I don’t-”

“Oh come on, Karen. Yes, you are.” He huffed. “You’re a reporter if I give you a job, and I am. Don’t say no. When can you come in?”

Karen laughed. She was going to do this. Resistance was futile. And she knew in her gut that this was right, that this was good. 

“I’ll be in tomorrow. Afternoon.” She said, still a little dazed with shock and the flow of this conversation. 

“Good. I’ll find a computer for you around here somewhere, but I don’t have an office for you, you’ll have to take a spot at the freelance table.” Ellison was scribbling something down now, she could hear the scratchy whirring sound of his pen flying. 

“Sounds good, boss.” 

“Yes it does.” 

When Karen finally hung up with Ellison she flopped down on the couch and stared at the ceiling.  _ What just happened?  _

She was a journalist again. 

Karen’s fingers were tingling. This felt right.  _ Really right. _

What was she going to tell Matt and Foggy? She bit her lip. They’ll be upset. 

Ok- she didn’t need to figure that out right now- she was too excited. She wanted a beer.

And tacos.  _ Ooooo _ and chips. And guacamole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Friends!  
> Ack - sorry if I teased too much with the end of the last chapter! But this is gonna be a slow burn:) These two need to rile each other up a little bit more:)   
> Thanks for reading as always!!


	5. Chapter 5

“Attaboy.” Frank called out, after catching the football Zach had just thrown in a fairly decent spiral. “Now chase it down this time.”

He threw the football back to Zach, but aimed far enough to his right that Zach had to hustle over and catch it mid-stride. 

“Nice one, Zach!” David shouted over his beer. 

David leaned back in his chair, beaming with pride for his son, out of his mind happy. He and Sarah both were. Frank too, honestly. 

He caught another pretty good throw from Zach, then tossed him another one to chase, this time in the opposite direction. 

Frank glanced over. Leo was sitting at the patio table between her parents reading today’s paper like the old soul she was. Sarah was sitting close to Leo, watching Zach run for the catch while stroking Leo’s hair. Sarah could barely take her eyes, or her hands, off of her children. Zach was already chafing at his mom’s affection. By the time Frank had arrived, Zach was already trying to shrink and squirm away from the excessive hugs and kisses. Leo was enduring and indulging her parents like a champ though. Frank tossed another lob to Zach and caught Leo’s gaze at just the right moment, while Sarah was leaning over to press yet another kiss onto Leo’s temple. Leo pinned him with a long-suffering look. Frank smirked and shot her a covert wink. She was such a good kid. An amazing young lady. 

So good to have her back. 

“Heads up!” Zach yelled, as he fired off a stinger. 

It veered off course, and Frank had to run and jump a bit to snatch the football out of the air before it hit the patio table and spilled everyone’s drinks. 

Frank skidded to a halt as Zach yelled, “Sorry!”

“Good catch, Pete!” Leo said, then caught herself, “I mean- Frank.” 

Frank shrugged it off, “You can call me, Pete. Most people do. It’s safer.” 

“That’s enough close calls with the football.” David said, still so happy. Grinning like an idiot. 

David waved Zach in. Zach scowled, looking for a second like he might complain, but then shut his mouth and jogged over to sit at the table with the rest of them. Frank looked just in time to see Leo giving Zach a death glare that he dared not trifle with. Again, he caught her eye. Another secret wink. 

It was so damn good to sit with the kids. To be around them all as a family. Frank had never been more grateful for all the work he’d done in group over these last several years. Yeah, he always felt the pain of missing his wife and kids. That would never change. But all the time he’d spent dealing with his demons was paying off right here, right now. This moment with the Liebermans could have been torture, it could have been tearing him up inside, but instead it was sweet. It was perfect. The ache of longing for his family was there, but it didn’t ruin what was happening here. Honestly, he had a feeling that it made his joy for them all even deeper. This was good. Undeniably good. 

Frank felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out. Amy. She’d been texting a lot today with little updates about Reappearances in Alabama. Like him, Amy had been pretty isolated before the Snap, so she hadn’t lost many people in that way. But over the last five years she’d built herself a family of friends. She even had a pretty serious boyfriend, who’s mom and brother had reappeared.  It was all as much of a trip for Amy as it was for Frank. This sudden ambush of life. 

Earlier in the day her texts had been informative and emotional, but now she was just being a pest. She wouldn’t stop bugging him for info about Karen. She wanted pictures Frank didn’t have, and details he wouldn’t give. This latest text read, 

_ ‘I can’t really remember what she looks like- send me a pic! From what I remember she’s crazy hot, right?’ _

Frank rolled his eyes, ignoring the text.  _ Pain in my ass. _

When he looked up from his phone he locked eyes with Zach, who was staring at him. Frank tipped up his chin, wanting to know what was on the kid’s mind. 

Zach’s head swiveled, looking between Frank and his parents. 

“It’s just so weird,” Zach shook his head, “You all look so different. I mean, five years have passed… but I feel exactly the same.” 

Frank nodded. “You’re right, little man. It’s weird as hell.” 

“Hey, are you saying we look old?” David asked, playing deeply offended. 

“Well yeah, kinda-” Zach said, before snapping his mouth shut. Frank was willing to bet he'd just received a kick from his sister under the table. 

Frank and David burst out laughing. Sarah, who was beautiful and knew it, and who also seemed completely unable to muster anything near irritation at her children today, laughed loudest. She leaned over, grabbed Zach around the neck, and kissed him on the cheek. The boy mumbled a whiny little “ _M_ _ oooom, _ come on”, which made Frank and David laugh harder. 

“You don’t look old, you just look different.” Leo piped up. 

“Oh yeah?” Frank leaned over in his seat. “How’s that?”

Leo paused, looking at him thoughtfully, her face serious. 

“It’s almost like you look younger. Because you look happy.”

Goddamn. This kid. Frank felt his throat tighten up all of a sudden. 

“I am happy, Sweetheart.” He reached and gave her hand a pat. “I’m happy to have you back. You too, Zach. Stupid happy.”

Frank gave Zach’s shoulder a squeeze. 

“And there’s another reason why Uncle Pete is so happy…” Sarah trailed off, grinning mischievously. 

_ Hell. _ Frank grimaced. Tender moment with the kids- over. Sarah was as bad as Amy with her prying about Karen. Actually, Sarah was worse. Amy was still a kid.

Frank leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He gave Sarah a look. She had the decency to fake confusion.

“What? Reappearances are happy occasions and you happen to have someone  _ very special  _ reappear into your life.” 

“Who?” Asked Zach, looking confused. 

“Karen Page.” Leo loud-whispered. 

Frank’s head whipped in her direction and Leo pressed her lips together trying to hide her grin. She’d never looked more like her mother. 

Pretty soon David joined in with the Karen questions and Frank caved, giving the whole nosy bunch of them as vague an update as possible. He steered the conversation toward the logistical nightmares in store for Reappeared people and how he was going to try and to help Karen with all of that. Seemed like safe territory. 

The kids listened close as the adults talked through a bunch of the legal and financial processes the government should put in place. Frank was thinking out loud that he should get Karen a debit card to Pete’s bank account, or maybe a prepaid Visa so she can go shopping, when Leo interrupted.

“You mean my money isn’t in the bank anymore?” She gasped, shocked. “I had like three hundred bucks in there!”

“Don’t worry. Your accounts were under ours, so we still have your savings.” David smoothed her hair behind her ear. 

Leo looked hugely relieved. Frank chuckled. 

“It must be so hard to not have any supplies or means to get new stuff.” Sarah said, brow furrowed in concern. “I’m going to send you home with a bag for Karen.” 

True enough, a little later when Frank said he should be heading back home, Sarah stopped him, making him wait so she could pack up a bag for Karen.

“Do you know what size she is?” Sarah called from upstairs. 

Hell.  He had no idea. 

“Ahh… she’s thin, but tall…” He called up the stairs, awkwardly. 

“Did you hear that, honey?” David appeared out of nowhere, hollering up at the ceiling obnoxiously loud. “Frank likes his blondes thin and tall.” 

Frank smacked David in the back of the head. A few minutes later Sarah was coming back downstairs heaving a big blue duffle bag that was surprisingly heavy. So generous. He could hardly think of what to say.

“Sarah…”

“It’s my pleasure, Frank.” She said, giving him a smile that was a little more understanding than he knew what to do with. “I’m so glad she’s back.” 

Frank hugged them all before leaving, squeezing the kids a little tighter than he normally would. 

“Don’t look in the bag, Pete. It’s all lady stuff. Girl’s eyes only!” Sarah called as he settled the big duffle bag in his trunk. 

Well, now he was curious. But he’d lived enough life to know when it was time to just nod and obey an order. So he did. 

Frank stopped at the hardware store near David’s house to make copies of his apartment keys for Karen. He wasn’t going to even attempt running any errands in Manhattan today. Getting off the island and out to the Leiberman’s had taken forever. Traffic was heavier than Frank had seen in years. Made sense. The closer he got to his own neighborhood, the trickier the driving became. He made his way slowly, block by block, navigating joyful scenes- like the party he and Karen had walked through yesterday. But he also tracked the tension in certain areas. Bodegas completely cleared out of food and supplies, grocery stores creating queues that wrapped around the block, ominous looking crowds surrounding public transportation. 

Frank’s tactical mind couldn’t help but catalogue it all. He knew better than most that if everyone was cooperative and generous, there would be no problems. But he also knew how quickly chaos could ignite if even just a few people started acting selfish or escalating aggression. Lots of potential for trouble. He was relieved Karen opted to stay in today, glad he wasn’t worrying about her being out in all this. 

He glanced at his clock. It was getting late. He hadn’t meant to leave Karen alone for so long today. If it had been anyone else-  _ anyone _ \- there was no way he would have left Karen’s side today. But when Sarah called, he could hear the kids jabbering and laughing in the background. Longing hit him like a punch to the gut. He’d needed to see them, to touch them, to hear their voices. 

He definitely hadn’t planned on being gone this long though. Goddamn traffic. Karen had been stuck inside all day. Knowing her, she probably hadn’t peeled her eyes away from the computer. She’d probably know more about the past five years than he did by the time he got home.

Frank pictured her there, curled up on the couch with his laptop. Wearing his shirt. A nice sight to come home to.  Coming home to someone… whoa.

Frank’s eyes kept ticking to the clock in his dashboard. Traffic was taking forever. He just wanted to get home. To Karen. Just to make sure… 

Frank exhaled a slow breath, pressing his head back into the seat’s headrest. He was wary of how anxious he was to get back. Yeah, he was eager to see Karen, but the other part of it was that… there was a sliver of fear in him that she wouldn’t be there when he got back. He’d felt the dread of it all day. And he knew it was stupid. All the vanished people had reappeared- there was no reason to think any of them would just disappear again. No reports of anything like that from anywhere in the world. But still… maybe he should have stayed home, just to make sure she was ok. 

_ Karen has to be ok.  _

_ Fuck. _ Frank winced. It was deja vu. He’d lived this exact moment before. Five years ago. Driving to Karen’s. Hoping like hell he’d find her there, just where she should be. And that she’d let him in. And she’d be happy to see him. 

Frank remembered it all, like it was yesterday. The drive had been infuriating, taking forever. Just like today, except instead of a traffic jam, it had been an obstacle course of accidents and abandoned cars. He remembered how his lungs had filled with ice when she didn’t answer the door. He remembered forcing his way in anyway. He remembered searching her apartment even though it was obvious there was no one home, stupidly checking under the bed, like she might just be hiding. He remembered lying to himself. _ She must be with Red.  _ He remembered rushing to the office. Finding Murdock there, so alone. 

Frank had known. Before his last ditch effort to check with Murdock. He’d known Karen was gone as he stood there in her dark, empty apartment. He could feel it. Or more like, he couldn’t feel her. He knew she was gone. 

And in that instant, he'd known not being with her when he’d had the chance had been a huge mistake. 

Frank scrubbed his hand over his face. Thinking about all that wouldn’t help anything. Karen was here now. She was going to be there when he got home. 

She  _ was. _

Frank sighed. Glaring at the dashboard clock again. 

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to check in. He pulled out his phone, comfortable texting because traffic was so slow.

_ 'On my way back. Need anything? _ ' He pressed send. 

He waited. The minutes crawled by. He shouldn’t have texted. Frank could feel himself starting to sweat.  _ Calm down, man. _ She’s probably busy or didn’t see the phone. Just because she didn’t text back right away doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong-

His phone buzzed in his hand. It was Karen. Relief flooded his system. 

_ 'My list is waaaaay too long:) I’ll have to go shopping soon to get a bunch of stuff, but not today. Hope you like tacos.'  _

Just like that. He could feel himself grinning like an idiot. She’s there. She’s ok. She’s making him dinner.  _ Shit. _ Now he couldn’t wait to get home, but for a whole different set of reasons. 

_ 'See you soon.'  _ He texted. 

Frank was still smiling to himself a minute or so later when his phone buzzed in his hand again, but the smile slid off his face real fast as he read the message. It wasn’t Karen. It was Amy. 

_ 'I’m serious- send me a pic! I wanna see her!' _

Frank rolled his eyes, ignoring Amy’s text again. Goddamn kid. 

…

Locking the apartment door behind him, Frank felt a little… out of body.  He could hear Karen in the kitchen cooking. Sounded like she was listening to the news. He moved silently. Like this might be a dream, he didn’t want to accidentally wake himself up. 

Karen must not have heard him come in. Her back was to him as she worked over something on the stove. She was in her skirt, but still had his shirt on, tied in a knot around her waist. Frank felt glued to the spot. He couldn’t look away. Couldn’t move forward. He wanted to let this moment exist for as long as it could.

He’d just shut the door on the whole world outside. Now there was only Karen. And him. And home. 

Karen was here. Safe and barefoot and pretty. This moment could stretch forever and he’d be happy. But then, because Karen can’t be contained, she turned. Her long hair swished as she moved. And she saw him. Something glittered in her eyes. She looked excited. Happy to see him.

“Frank.” Karen smiled, stepping over to the laptop on the kitchen island and muting the news she’d been listening to. “How are the-” 

The end of her question floated away over his shoulder. He had her in his arms again. Karen. Warm and alive and welcoming him home. 

He didn’t mean to rush her like this, to overwhelm her. He didn’t mean to assume it was ok to touch her like this, but-  _ God, _ it was good to see her. To hear her voice. To hold her so tight that nothing could drag her away. 

She indulged him. Karen let him hold on as long as he wanted, eventually laying her head on his shoulder and making little fists at the back of his jacket. Frank crossed the threshold of wanting to never let go, to sudden embarrassment from having held on too long, the moment he noticed they were swaying. He let his arms fall away and he took a small step back. He stared at his boots for a bit before looking up to catch her eyes. She was studying him in that open way she had. Never afraid to look. 

Frank felt a little tongue tied. Goddammit, he needed to say something. Anything. He was making it awkward. 

“It’s just really good to see you.” He breathed, finally. Hoping she tracked with his thoughts. 

She smiled wide. 

“It’s good to see you too, Frank.” She said it in a low, gravelly voice. Clearly imitating him.

They both laughed, tension erased. They were doing it again. Quoting things they’d said to each other all those years ago, like they were lyrics to an old favorite song.

Karen gave him one last teasing grin and turned back to the stove to flip a tortilla on the griddle. 

“Try the guacamole. Let me know what you think.” She said, gesturing to the big blue bowl on the island.

Frank walked over, grabbed a chip, and took a big scoop.  _ Amazing. _

“Mmmm.” He affirmed, nodding as he chewed. 

“Does it need more salt?” She asked over her shoulder, flipping another tortilla. 

“It’s perfect.” 

He could tell she was smiling even though her back was turned. 

Frank scanned the kitchen. Everything Karen made looked amazing. When was the last time he'd had anything like this? Way more than five years... Yeah, he had homemade food with Curt and Sandra, sometimes with Lieberman’s too. But, the last time someone made him dinner in a place that was  _ his _ home? Frank’s throat started to tighten up.  _ Jesus. _ He needed to pull it together. Didn’t need Karen thinking he’d gone all soft.

Frank glanced down at his computer just in time for it to grab his attention.

“Shit.” He mumbled under his breath. 

He hit unmute.

“-confirmation that Tony Stark, the Ironman, was killed in battle yesterday.”

Unbelievable. Ironman?  _ Dead? _

Frank heard Karen gasp and rush to his side. He made room for her so they could both watch the computer screen, standing close together. 

“Several sources within the Avengers have given their eye witness testimony, corroborating the tale of bravery, sacrifice, and ultimately, victory for the human race.”

The news cut to a shot of a woman. The scroll at the bottom named her Maria Hill, Deputy Director, Stark Industries. She looked exhausted, but her voice was clear and strong. 

“Many stories will be told about the events of yesterday, what we’re now calling The Battle of Earth. I can’t address all of your questions here today. Right now, all I can do is tell you the truth, in brief.” Maria Hill stared straight into the camera. “As you know, five years ago, there was another great battle was fought. That time, we lost. Our enemy, Thanos, used a weapon called the Infinity Gauntlet to achieve his goal of erasing half of the lives in the universe. He succeeded.”

Karen was pressed into his side. Frank could feel her every breath. He tried to ignore it and pay attention. 

“I can’t go into all the details at this time, but it’s important for the world, for each and every one of you, to know that the Avengers, with help from friends and allies from across the universe… These heroes moved heaven and earth to undo what was done. They fought against the insurmountable odds, and innumerable foes. They battled against time, waged war on Death itself. And they won. There were many losses in the fight. Natasha Romanov, better known as Black Widow, is one such loss. She will be forever remembered as a hero.”

The Black Widow’s photo appeared in the bottom corner of the screen. Karen’s hand fluttered up to her lips. Her eyes were getting glassy. Frank gave in to the pull of her, wrapping his arm around her and tucking her closer to his side. 

“In the end, the Avengers were able to rebuild the Infinity Gauntlet. Our Incredible Hulk, through a powerful act of courage, used the Gauntlet to bring back our Reappeared. And when Thanos returned to Earth to reclaim his weapon and use it again, this time to destroy - not half- but all life in the universe… another of Earth’s greatest defenders, Tony Stark, Ironman, sacrificed himself. He destroyed Thanos and the Gauntlet forever. Ironman saved us all.”

Deputy Director Hill’s voice finally wavered. Her eyes finally took on a sheen of tears. 

“More questions will be answered in the coming days and weeks, but for now- let us all remember and honor these fallen heroes. Let's rebuild. Let's work hard, together, to deserve the world we've sacrificed so much to save." 

A tear finally escaped down Hill's cheek. She wiped it hastily, nodded to the camera with a stern smile, turned, and left. 

The camera cut back to the news anchor who was recapping it all. 

Frank and Karen were frozen there, soaking in the information and all the emotions that came with it. Frank’s hand was at Karen’s waist, holding her close, rubbing small patterns across her ribs with his thumb. They kept listening. Karen didn’t move. She was so close. If he turned the slightest bit, his nose would be in her hair. His lips might brush her cheek. Frank was still trying to absorb the story he’d just heard, but his body could only handle so much. A large part of him was way more fascinated with the woman pressed against him than with whatever was happening on the screen.

“They did so much to bring us back.” Karen’s voice was hushed. 

Karen’s eyes flickered up to his. She looked lost. Overwhelmed. 

Frank’s pulse was starting to pump harder. Getting a glimpse of all the effort it had taken to bring Karen back to him… Against all the odds, here she was. With him. Right here in his hands.  Frank looked into Karen’s blue eyes, telling himself not to look away, not to let his gaze travel across her face. Definitely not to look down at her mouth. Not her mouth. Too tempting. Then again, her eyes were a danger zone too. Blue depths pulling him down, luring him to dive in. 

_ Ding. _

The oven. 

Karen startled at the noise and quickly turned out of his hold. She grabbed an oven mitt and pulled out a tray of hot, fresh tortilla chips. Frank took the moment to get a hold of himself.  _ Christ. _ She’d barely been back for 24 hours, Karen didn’t need him all getting carried away just because he was so damn happy to have her back. He’d taken over her house and her office and everything. He should back off. Right? She probably needed space. He probably needed- hell, he didn’t know what he needed. He didn’t even know what he  _ wanted. _ All the more reason not to rush into anything.

Frank closed the laptop, feeling overstimulated, needing a break from the news.

It was the right move. Dinner with Karen was too special, too perfect to let anything distract them. They sat in their stools at the kitchen island again. Karen was so alive with curiosity. She wanted to know everything. Frank had her complete attention. It was a daunting thing, having a woman as fierce and intense as Karen Page completely focused on him. She’d always been that way. In the hospital, in his jail cell… anywhere. Her eyes- like she could see straight through him. She knew when he was hiding, lying, or full of shit. It was incredible. It was intimidating.

Frank tried not to make comparisons, but it made him wonder… Had anyone ever been able to lay him out and read him the way Karen did? Curt? Even Maria?

Intimidating or not, Frank couldn’t help himself... he fully enjoyed being the center of Karen’s attention. The way her eyes followed him. Her reactions to everything he said. Every time she smiled it felt like he earned a trophy.

After dinner Karen popped open his laptop again. Frank did the dishes, biting down on his grin as he heard her muttering curses under her breath. He showed her how to use the various touch panels along the side of the keyboard, but it seemed like she kept hitting the ‘hide windows’ button on accident. Every time she hit the button her swearing got louder. It was killing him, but he didn’t want to laugh because she really did sound annoyed. 

“Oh my God,  this fucking thing…” She snapped. 

Frank hurried from the kitchen to the bathroom to avoid getting caught smirking. 

Frank was washing his hands when he noticed Karen’s underwear laying out on the edge of the bathtub. It jolted him. Not in a sexual or heated way… it was light. A sudden, glowing, family feeling. 

A million years ago, Frank had been a husband. He’d been a father. When you lived in a house with your family, there were always clothes left around. It was part of what made home feel like home. Seeing Karen’s clothes laying here, it felt good. She was living here. With him. Like a family.

Frank was able to enjoy that family feeling for all of two seconds before the other part of his brain kicked in. Those were Karen’s panties. Now his blood started to heat a little. If her panties were in here, that meant she was out there in the kitchen… completely bare under her skirt. 

Jesus. 

Frank shook his head. What was he - sixteen? Get it together. He needed to give her the supplies from Sarah. He’d left the bag near the door when he got home, too enthralled at the sight of Karen in his kitchen to remember it until now. 

Karen’s eyes were still glued to the computer screen as Frank retrieved Sarah's duffle bag from where he’d left it near the front door. 

“Got some supplies here, from Sarah.” Frank said, setting the bag on the stool next to Karen.

Her eyes darted to the duffle bag, then up to his. 

“Sarah made a bag? For me?” Karen smiled, happy and surprised. 

“Yeah. She’s a good one.” Frank nodded. “I don’t know what’s all in there. She said it was Girl’s Eyes Only.”

Karen laughed. “I’ll have to send her a huge thank you. This is amazing.” 

Frank left Karen to explore the depths of the bag and went over to the couch, unable to resist turning the news back on again. There was more coverage of Reappearances, looping clips of Maria Hill’s speech, and ambassadors from Wakanda giving updates and plans for providing assistance to Reappeared people around the globe. Frank was so absorbed in it all, he barely registered Karen taking the big bag into the bedroom and closing the door. 

Frank was about to flip away from global news to the local station when Karen finally came back to the living room. He glanced over at her and froze. He’d never seen her like this. She was in a Mets tee shirt and some truly tiny little shorts. Her legs stretched for miles. Frank snapped his gaze away from her legs and up to her eyes hoping she hadn’t caught him staring. Her cheeks were a little pink as she made her way over to the couch. 

“Sarah must be pretty tiny, huh?” Karen said, gesturing down to her borrowed clothes and how small they were on her. 

Again, Frank fought not to let his gaze drift down to Karen’s legs. 

“Uh.. yeah, she is.” Frank mumbled, keeping his eyes up. 

Karen sat down next him on the couch, still blushing a little. He had a feeling she didn’t normally walk around the house in such tiny shorts. 

“Well, I need to send her a thank you- that bag is a treasure trove, even if the clothes are a little small.” 

Frank nodded, turning his attention back to the tv, willing himself not to look down at her legs for the love of god. They watched the news in a comfortable silence for a while, until Frank’s phone buzzed in his back pocket. He fished it out and rolled his eyes when he saw the notification. Another text from Amy.

_ 'Seriously? No pics?' _

Frank put the phone face down on his thigh. Thirty seconds later. 

_ 'I want pics!'  _

Another eye roll. He put the phone face down again. Ten seconds later.

_ 'STOP IGNORING ME!' _

Frank huffed reading that last one. Damn pest.

Karen laughed next to him.

“Who is that?” 

Frank sighed, “Amy.”

Her brow arched. “Why aren’t you texting back?”

“Because she’s being a little shit.” Frank said, putting his phone face down on his thigh again. 

Karen laughed, such a pretty sound. It made him smile too, annoyed as he was. 

“What does she want?” Karen asked. 

Frank looked over at Karen out the side of his eye, not exactly sure why this made him nervous, why it felt like a big deal. 

“She wants a picture of you.” He heard himself say.

Karen’s brows shot up. Her grin widened. “She does?” 

Frank nodded, rolling his eyes again at Amy’s absurd request. But Karen didn’t seem to think it was absurd at all. Before he knew it, she was scooting toward him, curling into him the way she had last night. She didn’t drape her legs over his lap this time, but she tucked in close under his arm.

“Ok.” She said. Ready to take the picture. 

How did she do that? How did she make everything feel natural? He over analyzed everything when it came to Karen, but she made it all so easy. Frank’s skin was buzzing a little everywhere she touched him, but he had to admit it felt good. Somehow comfortable. So obvious. 

Frank raised his phone to take their picture. Karen’s head was on his shoulder, her arm floated over his torso and wrapped around him. God... 

Frank snapped the picture. 

“Let me see.” Karen asked, her head not leaving it’s spot on his shoulder. 

Frank pulled up the picture and showed Karen the screen. She looked beautiful and relaxed. She was smiling into the camera.

“You don’t look very happy to see me.” She said, but her voice was laced with laughter. 

He looked at the photo again, this time at himself. He wasn’t smiling, but he never really smiled for pictures. He looked back at Karen, frowning.

“Of course, I’m happy to see you.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Well, tell that to your face.”

Frank laughed. Karen always gave him shit. He loved it. 

She started laughing along with him. “Now that’s more like it. Take another one.” 

Frank nodded, adjusting the arm around her shoulders. He held his phone up again, locking eyes with her on the screen. He smiled. 

_Click._

They studied the photo. Frank felt a sparkler go off somewhere in his chest. In the photo, they were all wrapped up together. His smile was nowhere near as big as Karen’s, but it was there. They looked happy. 

Karen sighed, content. He could feel her nodding her approval into his neck. 

Frank thumbed over to Amy’s text and sent her the photo.

Karen didn’t try move away even though the photo was taken. She settled in. Frank's pulse jumped, not pounding or anything, just humming in his veins. Being with Karen felt so damn good. Frank let his knuckles start rubbing little trails along her arm. 

His phone buzzed. Amy again. He was sure of it. He didn’t even check, leaving it facedown on the cushion next to him. 

It buzzed again. 

And again.

And again.

And again.

Frank rolled his eyes, determined to ignore it. But by the tenth text he could feel Karen’s body shaking with laughter she was trying to hide. 

“You gonna answer that?” She giggled. 

Frank thought for a moment, then just tightened his grip around Karen and turned up the tv.

“No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really happy today:) 
> 
> So - my judgement is a little off and I'm not quite sure that this chapter is ready to publish... haha- but I'm too happy to care! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter as it is:) 
> 
> CELEBRATING OUR 46TH PRESIDENT!!


	6. Chapter 6

Karen closed her eyes and breathed in deep. The aroma of Frank’s coffee machine perking up a fresh pot was pure bliss. She was going to have to ask Frank where he got his beans. She’d looked through the pantry to see what brand he bought, but all she found was a plain plastic bag full of beans labeled ‘For Pete’. It made her smile. Pete was a fancy man. Pete had some local coffee hipster roasting special beans just for him. 

Karen heard the water shut off in the bathroom. Frank was done in the shower... 

It was amazing how natural this was- living together. It had only been two days, but it felt like they already had an old familiar rhythm. Even waking up next to him felt normal. 

It happened again last night. When the time came to go to bed, Karen wasn’t ready to let him go. She wanted to keep him close. Luckily for her, he must have been feeling the same way. Frank didn’t make her ask, he just followed her to the bedroom. Their bedroom.

Again, they gave each other space as they laid down together. Again, they woke up in each other’s arms. Again, she was greeted with a low, growly ‘Morning’ while he tucked her hair behind her ear. 

Karen was startled from her thoughts by the click of the bathroom door as it opened. Frank appeared in the doorway; steam billowing all around him, a towel wrapped around his hips, hair wet and tossed back away from his face. He looked over at her.

“Hey. Coffee smells good.” 

Thank god he didn’t wait for her to respond before taking the few steps over to the bedroom and shutting the door behind him. 

_Good grief._

So, yeah- on one hand being with Frank was as natural as breathing. But on the other… He was a total shock to her system. 

He’d changed. The rage that had always simmered right there under the surface with him had faded, softened by a gentleness that she’d always known was there even when he’d tried to kill it off. It was so easy to see. The healing. The growth that had clearly taken place over the last five years. Like a deep abyss inside him had closed up and become a garden. It was beautiful and stirring. 

Karen turned away from the closed bedroom door, squeezing her eyes shut, trying not to let her mind wander too far into what was going on on the other side of that door. Speaking of beautiful and stirring… Frank’s body. _Lord._ How the hell did he maintain that? 

Karen had always known he was fit, but over the last few days- she’d been able to touch him. Really touch him. And she felt how solid he was. Seeing him in a towel just confirmed something she’d already known. She still wanted him. Five years for him, and a few months for her, had changed nothing. He was about nine years older than her now, and he’d just gotten better with age. The wisps of grey at his temples were sexy as hell. Karen wanted to smack herself for how attracted she was to him. 

The bag of supplies from Sarah Lieberman suddenly sprang to the top of Karen’s mind, making her blush.

Last night she’d taken the big duffle bag to the bedroom so she could unpack it and see what she had to work with. When she unzipped the bag, there was a note, right on top, from Sarah. It read,

_‘Dear Karen,_

_Hello and welcome back! I tried to think of everything you might need right now- toiletries and cosmetics etc. I’m not sure of your size, so I tried to pack you the stretchiest clothes I could find- so hopefully a few of these will fit! I hope you don’t mind me saying… You were very, very missed. You mean the world to Frank. More than anyone. More than he even realizes, I think. If he’s being dense, give him time. And if he’s taking too much time… I packed a little something special here in the bottom of the bag. I can’t wait to meet you, hopefully soon._

_Love, Sarah’_

Intrigued, Karen had shifted things around to find whatever it was Sarah had stashed at the bottom of the bag. Her fingers came across something silky. She pulled out a little black dress. It had tiny straps that criss crossed in the back. It was ruched with little strings at the sides, so you could make it a little longer or shorter depending on how much leg you wanted to show. It was sexy without being too thirsty. Karen loved it instantly. She wondered why Sarah would have sent her this little date dress, and peeked back into the bottom of the bag. Karen’s eyes went wide. Sarah had also sent her a box of condoms. 

Karen glanced up at the closed bedroom door, blushing, and so glad she hadn’t chosen to look through the bag while Frank was around. Karen shook her head, stuck between wanting to laugh out loud and wanting to crawl under the bed and hide. Sarah Leiberman certainly had a strong opinion about what was going on between Karen and Frank. Karen wished like hell she felt half as certain.

She didn’t feel safe making any assumptions about how Frank felt, or what he’d do next. Especially when it came to her. She’d been wrong too many times. And just because everything was so sweet right now, and it felt like her body lit up when he touched her, and every innocent little thing- like waking up in his arms or seeing him walk through their apartment in a towel- sent her imagination would veering off course into some R rated danger zone… None of that meant anything had really changed between them. _None of it_. She needed to remember that. Karen didn’t want to feel this way about him. Didn’t want to get all wound up again. She didn’t want to get to a place where she was way too hopeful and reading his signals wrong. She couldn't let herself get desperate.

She refused to ask him for things he couldn’t give, refused to get rejected. Not again. 

Her wounds hadn’t had five years to heal, they were still raw. She needed to understand what had changed in Frank over the past five years, and what _hadn’t_. She needed to know so she could protect herself. If he felt the same as he did five years ago, she could not let herself go down this path again. She might have to move out… 

Karen was jarred from her thought spiral by the man himself. Frank sauntered out of the bedroom in jeans and a grey tee shirt. His shoulders were a little wet from a few droplets still dripping from his hair. Karen wanted to whine. _Did he have to look this good right now?_

He was in a good mood. His lips tipped up in a half smile as he walked past her, beelining for the coffee. He pulled two mugs from the cupboard and made sure to splash some cream into Karen’s before setting it in front of her. He remembered the way she’d taken her coffee yesterday. Was he serious right now? Was he trying to drive her insane? 

Karen took a sip of her coffee, studying Frank as he started pulling out eggs and bacon from the fridge. He was making them breakfast. 

His relaxation was scratching at her. It must be nice to have put five years between now and that day at the hospital. Five years between this cup of coffee and the last time they’d spoken, when she’d basically told him she was in love with him. And he’d told her to leave. He’d told her he’d rather be the Punisher than be with her. Was he just going to ignore it forever? Did it even matter to him? Was he just going to act like they were _roommates_ or something? 

Frank popped a tray of bacon into the oven and started melting some butter in a pan. He looked over his shoulder at her, smiling, and bright eyed, and in such a good mood it was pissing her off. 

“Fried or scrambled?” He asked. 

“Over easy.” She answered, flat. 

“Coming up.” He smiled again, charming as hell.

Karen rolled her eyes as soon as he turned away. She didn’t want eggs. She wanted answers. She’d spent the last two days asking him every question under the sun except the ones she really wanted to. She couldn’t wait any more.

 _Ok._ Broaching their last conversation in the hospital was way too much to start with, so that left…

“Frank?” Karen asked, bracing herself with a gulp of coffee.

“Yeah?”

“Are you still the Punisher?” 

His head whipped around and he stared at her, wide-eyed. 

_What?_ Did he think she’d just never ask? That she wasn’t dying to know everything? 

He shook his head slowly. “No, I’m not.” 

Karen waited for him to explain, but he just stared at her, wary, like she might throw her hot coffee in his face. He had good instincts. She felt like doing exactly that. 

“When did you stop?” 

Frank looked down at the floor. “After the Snap.” 

Karen waited for more, but Frank let the silence stretch. Karen huffed. “Well, what happened?” 

Frank turned back to the stove for a minute, flipping their eggs while he mulled over what he wanted to say next. Karen could see the tension coiling in his body, his shoulders had tightened up. Part of her felt bad for killing his jovial mood, but the other part wanted to stomp her foot, to demand answers. 

Frank turned back toward her, but didn’t look her in the eye. 

“It’s hard to explain. Hard to remember what those days were like. Everything felt like a bad dream.” Frank shook his head. “I’d been chasing down this guy, some low-level mob grunt. And he just turned to ash… just floated away in the wind. I thought- I don’t know what I thought. Guess I was thinking I’d finally lost my damn mind. Maybe the bullet in my brain decided to move or something…” 

Frank laughed, but it wasn’t a real laugh. It was an unhappy, choked thing. 

“But then, it was everywhere. People were screaming, crying. Car accidents all over the place. Planes literally falling from the sky. I’d never been so scared in my life. I ran like hell. Didn’t even know where I was going. Just ran.” Frank finally looked Karen in the eyes. He looked haunted. “I’ll never forget that, Karen. The sound of it. The weight of the fear everywhere. It was-”

Frank’s voice choked up for a second. He took his time swallowing to get it under control. 

“It was exactly the way I felt when I woke up and found out my family was dead. _Exactly_ the same. But this time- the whole world was feeling what I felt.” 

_Oh, Frank…_

“And once we knew the scale of it… half the world just- _gone._ Once I knew that, I knew I couldn’t be the Punisher anymore. If everyone did what I’d done… the whole world would be dead.” Frank closed his eyes, nodding as he spoke. “You were right, Karen. Everything you ever said to me was right. What I was doing- the way I was doing it- was wrong.”

The eggs on the stove started really crackling. Frank turned to tend to them, and Karen sat there, crushed under the weight of what he’d just said. She felt her eyes getting hot, a lump forming in her throat. 

She was so glad, so incredibly glad, that he wasn’t a the Punisher anymore. So glad he hadn’t stopped because he’d gotten caught or killed, but because he’d had a change of heart. But, the pain and terror of what he’d gone through to get there. _Holy shit._

She’d just spent the last two days learning everything there was to know about the Snap. She technically knew what he was talking about, but she hadn’t really sat with it. She hadn’t allowed herself to sink into it and really imagine what it would have been like to live through. It must have been terrible. Traumatic. A true waking nightmare. 

And Frank, he’d already been through so much. How the hell was he so strong? How could he bounce back from everything and be this gentle, sweet man who held her when she cried and was currently plating up her breakfast? 

Karen was pierced through with loyalty to him, so fierce she felt she could fight off an army for him. He’d been through so much- and was resurrected. He took all that pain, and still had strength left to shoulder the pain of others, he was working to make the world a better place. Frank was amazing. He was a survivor. He was the man you’d want at your side if the world was ending. What the hell was wrong with her? Why had she started this whole conversation like she was trying to pick a fight with him?

Frank put Karen’s breakfast in front of her and sat down in the stool next to hers. She didn’t even know where to start…

“Frank, I…” She searched for the right words. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have just ambushed you with this-”

Frank shook his head, making a slicing motion with his hand to cut her off, but needing to chew and swallow his mouthful of eggs before he could talk. 

“Nah- Karen. Don’t apologize. Please.” He was still shaking his head slightly. “I should have told you all this - first thing. I knew you’d want to talk about it- to know what happened- but, I guess…”

Frank winced, looking up at her from under his brow in that bold, yet somehow bashful way of his. 

“I kept putting it off. It’s been so good to have you back, to talk to you, to have you here.” He sighed. “I just didn’t want to ruin it with all that Punisher shit.”

Karen huffed a laugh, exasperated with both of them. 

“I felt the same way.” She grabbed her coffee, warming her fingers on the mug. “And you didn’t ruin anything. Thank you for telling me. I'm so glad that part of your life is behind you.” 

He stared at her. It was one of those rare moments, she had no idea what he was thinking.

“Has anyone ever recognized you?” She asked.

Frank’s mouth tipped up to one side. 

“A few times. But the world was such a mess, no one gave a shit. And all these years later, especially now that I’m a PI- I know a couple of cops who are pretty sure I’m Frank Castle, but my fake records hold up and I guess we have some kind of truce.” 

Frank took a small sip of his coffee. Karen’s heart rate skyrocketed. She reached out and grabbed his forearm. 

“There are people out there who know who you are?” 

She must have looked as shocked as she felt, because Frank’s brows shot up. 

“Yeah, a few.” He shrugged, like this wasn’t terrifying news. “But the identity Madani set up for me is air tight. Don’t worry. No one cares.”

He laid his hand on top of hers where her fingers still clutched his arm. 

“Hell, Mahoney, Murdock and I go out for beers sometimes.” 

“What?” Karen’s jaw dropped.

Frank smirked. “It’s true. He just calls me Pete and makes me pay for everything.”

They both burst out laughing. This was so crazy. Frank was a free man. Really, truly free, in so many ways.

Their laughter died slowly as they watched each other. Karen could feel herself starting to blush. She slipped her hand out from under his, tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and grabbed her fork. They both ate in thoughtful silence for a while.

“Pete, huh? Everyone calls you that?” 

Frank nodded, chewing his bacon.

“Should I call you Pete?” 

He looked thoughtful as he swallowed, thinking it over, but when his eyes locked on hers there wasn’t a trace of uncertainty in them.

“No. Please don’t.”

The way this man says _please..._

“Ok.”

…

Karen tried not to let her nerves get the best of her as she and Frank walked to the butcher shop.

She hadn’t wanted to surprise Frank with the news that she was going back to The Bulletin. She’d meant to tell him this morning, but then she’d gotten all riled up and decided to try to bicker with him about The Punisher instead. So now, here she was, walking to the office, where she was now going to have to tell her three favorite people in the world that she was leaving them.

Karen knew work-wise this would be fine… it’s not like Matt and Frank were currently counting on her and Foggy for anything. But working with Matt and Foggy was so much more than the work, it was friendship. It was family. And now Frank was swirled into everything as well. 

And now there was no time to think of the right thing to say. The walk from the apartment to the office was too short, and Frank’s presence at her side was distracting. Karen was so incredibly aware of him. So aware of the fact that they were now able to walk together in broad daylight without fear. So aware of the fact that he matched his strides to hers, and squinted in the sunlight as he head checked for cars before letting them cross the street, and smelled so clean and good whenever he leaned close to say something. With all of that going on, Karen didn’t stand a chance of pulling together a gameplan for telling the guys about the paper before she was suddenly passing the little flower garden that used to be her car and stepping passed Frank into the butcher shop’s back hallway as he held the door for her. 

The other two were already here. Despite her nerves, Karen couldn’t help the grin that blossomed when she walked in to the office to find Matt and Foggy huddled with their heads together over over some paperwork. To her, this still felt normal, she hadn’t gone five years without her friends. Nonetheless, seeing the Matt and Foggy together always did her heart some good. She loved them both so much. 

They looked up as Karen and Frank entered the office. Foggy grinned and Matt made his way to her in 5 long strides, pulling her in for a hug. 

“Hey Matt.” Karen laughed, as he held on just a little too long. “I’m still here- in the flesh- haven’t vanished yet.”

Matt was still smiling as he let her go, but he didn’t laugh at her teasing. He wasn’t quite ready to joke about the Snap quite yet. Karen cringed a small apology. She knew he couldn’t see it, but he’d sense she was sorry anyway. 

Karen looked over at Foggy. “How’s Marci?”

“She’s great. Almost wouldn’t let me out of the house this morning to go to work- but she’s great.” Foggy said, shaking his head with a smile Karen related to so very much. 

People who’d survived the Snap were going to have a hard time letting their Reappeared loved ones out of their sight for a while. 

Karen was distracted from Foggy’s story about how Marci had renovated their entire apartment, by the sight of Matt and Frank sharing a quick backslapping hug. It was incredible to see how close their friendship had become. She looked back at Foggy who’d trailed off mid-sentence, staring at the Daredevil and the Punisher in stunned silence. It almost made Karen want to laugh. She’d forgotten how much Frank scared the shit out of Foggy, and how much Foggy disapproved of him in general. This whole work situation was going to take some getting used to.

Well, it would for the guys at least…

“Karen- you take the office, I’ll set up out here.” Frank said, setting his bag down on one of the dingy chairs that lined the little corridor that served as their office “waiting room”, and gestured toward his office with his free hand.

It was a noble gesture, and so very Frank. Karen smiled, about tell him that wouldn’t be necessary, but Matt jumped in. 

“Thanks Frank- it’ll only be temporary. We’ll get the office set up for all of us soon.” Matt was smiling, excited. “I filled Foggy in on our current cases, but I think we’ll keep those as our priority to keep Fog freed up to take on the massive load of work we’re probably going to have coming in.”

Frank gave a chin up of agreement. 

“There’s going to be a ton of Reappeared people who need legal help getting getting their finances and records back, getting connected to social services, and getting re-documented. Not to mention the troubles that some folks will have if they never had documents to begin with.”

Foggy’s brow creased with concern. “I agree. We don’t know exactly what the government is going to do policy-wise, but focusing on the re-establishing the Reappeared is going to be the most direct help we can give to our city right now. I’m all in. ” 

Frank nodded gravely. “Yeah. There’s a lot of people who could fall through the cracks right now if we’re not careful. A lot of bad shit covered up by the chaos.”

Karen was struck as she looked at the three of them. For a split second, she doubted herself. They were going to do some truly important work. Maybe she should stay. Maybe they’d need her.

But that moment came and went. 

Karen watched the three of them, standing close, strategizing. Already sharing a headspace and wavelength. Already diving into their shared cause. They were already a team. They were going to be ok without her. 

Karen’s pulse spiked. It was time.

“I- I have an announcement.” Karen said, not liking how breathy her voice suddenly sounded. “This sounds amazing. This work- taking care of all these Reappeared people, making sure they get back on their feet… it’s going to be incredible. I’m really proud of you.”

The guys stopped talking. Frank and Foggy’s faces were a little blank, but Matt suddenly looked concerned. He could probably hear the way her heart was racing or something. She needed to get on with it.

“So, I hope you know how much I’m 100% behind you… even though… God, I don’t know how to say this.” Karen raked her fingers through her hair, and took a deep breath. “I got a job at The Bulletin.” 

Blank stares. 

“My first day is today actually…” She trailed off, awkwardly. “So, Frank- you won’t need to work in the Waiting Room.”

More blanks stares. Shit. She looked between them all and shrugged, not knowing how to make this better. 

“What- when did this happen?” Matt finally asked, breaking the silence. 

“Yesterday actually. Frank gave me a burner phone to borrow, and I called Ellison. Just to check in, you know? Just to say hi. But we got to talking and the next thing I knew- I had my old job back.” Karen rambled out, almost laughing with nervous energy. 

Foggy tossed a scowl at Frank, like this was all his fault for giving Karen a phone. But Frank didn’t notice. He was staring at Karen, his face unreadable again. She suddenly had the strongest feeling that she’d told him this when they were alone, that she’d given him some warning.

All three of her favorite men in the world were looking at her, shoulders slumped, like kicked puppies. 

“I’m so sorry- I know this isn’t what any of you were expecting today. I mean, I love the idea of working with all of you. It would be amazing- a dream. But, I hope you’ll understand- when I was working at the paper, it was like I found myself. I was doing what I was best at, becoming my best self, and I loved it. Losing that job was like…” 

Karen shook her head, having no words to describe what that terrible time in her life was like. She looked imploringly at each of the guys, needing them to understand. 

“When Ellison offered me the job yesterday, it was like something connected inside me that was broken. It feels right. It _is_ right. I know it.”

Foggy was the first one to offer her a smile. Matt was a close second, though his smile looked a little more grudgingly given than Foggy’s. 

“We get it Karen. It’s what you’re meant to do. I’ve always known that, since the first time I ever read your writing. And the city needs your voice now, more than ever.” Foggy said.

 _Foggy._ Karen felt her eyes start to heat up.

Matt nodded. “I knew we wouldn’t be able to keep you here forever, but I’d hoped for a little longer than this. We’re going to miss you, Karen.” 

They were going to make her cry. 

“I’ll miss you too. But, you know I’ll still be in all the time. Plus-” Karen grinned at Frank, who was still frozen stiff, wanting to get a smile out of him. “I won’t even be leaving you short-handed, because you already have an amazing investigator.” 

Matt smiled, but Frank winced. He finally broke his blank stare at Karen and looked down at the floor, shaking his head. 

Shit. She’d said something wrong. Made it worse. Karen didn’t hesitate a second. She went to Frank and took his hand. He wouldn’t look at her. She needed to get him alone. 

She gave Foggy and Matt a little look over her shoulder that said _we’ll be right back._

“Come with me.” She said, almost in a whisper.

Frank was so still and silent, she almost thought he’d resist when she tugged on his hand to step inside his _\- their_ \- office. But he came easily.

Karen shut the door behind them and turned to Frank. Her heart jumped into her throat at the way he was looking at her. All of his emotions were right there on the surface, frustration, and sadness and, if she was reading it right, shame. What on earth was going through his head right now? 

“Frank, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” He repeated, shaking his head. “I’m wrong. I shouldn’t have taken over your office. Taken your job like this. I should be the one leaving, not you.”

“No. _No_ \- I don’t want that.” Karen said, quickly. Stepping up to him and gripping his arms for emphasis. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so glad you and Matt had each other’s backs for the past five years.”

“If I wasn’t here, you’d be staying.” 

Karen smiled. She reached up and touched his jaw. “If you weren’t here, yeah- I might be staying. But it wouldn’t be because I wanted to, it would be because I was worried they’d need me. But they don’t. They have you.” 

Frank leaned slightly into her touch, but the look on his face said he wasn’t sure he believed her. 

“Believe me, Frank. The paper is where I’m supposed to be. And the fact that my three favorite people in the world are going to be here, working together, makes me happier than I can say.” 

Frank was quiet for a moment, searching her face for any sign that she wasn’t telling the absolute truth. He didn’t find one. He tilted his head to the side asking _‘Really?’_

“Yes.” Karen grinned. “Besides- this is for the best anyway. If we lived together _and_ worked together, you’d get sick of me.”

Frank bit the inside of his cheek on his smile and shook his head, staring her down. 

“Impossible.”

…

Thank goodness, the guys were fast in finding their new equilibrium once the initial shock of Karen’s announcement sunk in. There was no tearful goodbye or dramatic scene as she left the office. They were already joking around. Foggy was making plans for them all to get together next week. 

Frank gave her another kicked puppy look when she told him she didn’t want him to drop her off at the paper, but Karen insisted on going alone. Considering the circumstances of her firing, she didn’t think it would be a good move to show up at the paper with a vigilante in tow, retired or not. The compromise was that he’d come to the paper to pick her up. She’d tried to put her foot down, but he did it again. Frank said _please_ in that grinding whispery way of his and… _Jesus_.

So, the ex-Punisher was picking her up from work... and she’d just have to cross that bridge when she got to it. 

Entering the building was surreal. Karen could feel her pulse pick up. She been to office after that terrible night, when the fake Daredevil attacked and everything fell apart. She’d come back to show Ellison the video of Agent Nadeem’s confession… but that felt like a lifetime ago. Everything had been so raw, so urgent and terrifying. She shuddered, not wanting to relive those moments right now. 

Karen rounded the corner to the newsroom bullpen and she stopped to take it in. Everything looked just the same. The shabby furniture and filing cabinets, dated window blinds, stacks of folders on every surface, articles and scribbled notes pinned to every wall. Writers, navigating the maze of desks or gathered in small clusters working through the day’s most important stories. Everything- exactly the same, except the people. Karen didn’t recognize anyone. Not a shock really, it had been five years… but still, it made the place feel less like she was coming home, more like she was trespassing. 

“Karen?”

Karen was jolted by the sound of her own name. A woman was rushing toward her, but Karen didn’t recognize… _holy shit -_ it was Anisha. Karen hadn’t recognized her because the last time she’d seen Anisha, she’d been a kid. The office intern with a bubbling bright smile and long glossy hair, always in a high ponytail that swung down past her waist. The woman crossing the office to give her a hug now had the same bright smile, but her hair was in a short buzz cut and she had a large, intricate mandala tattoo decorating her throat. 

“My God, Karen.” Anisha said, pulling Karen into a tight hug. 

Karen could only gasp and hug her back. When the women parted, all they could do was stare at each other. 

“Anisha, look at you. All grown up!” Karen’s voice was half choked up, half laughing. 

They were probably just about the same age now. 

“And look at you… not aged a day. It’s so weird!” Anisha said, shaking her head. “Good- but _so weird!”_

They both burst out laughing. Karen looked over Anisha’s shoulder and felt her heart flip in her chest. 

There was Ellison, standing in the door of his office. His arms were folded across his chest, like she was late and he was already annoyed with her, but she could see the smile hiding in the corners of his eyes. Karen gave Anisha’s arm one more squeeze, then stepped around her and headed for Ellison. 

Part of her wanted to run at him and hug him, the other part of her honored the fact that they hadn’t had that kind of relationship before. Karen remembered the last time he’d hugged her, in the street as she’d snuck up on him to ask him for help. She remembered it so vividly. How he’d hugged her, even though he was still so angry at her. How he helped and protected her, even though she was breaking his heart. Just days after she’d asked her own father for help and he’d rejected her. Again. 

Karen wasn’t certain how Ellison felt about her now. She wasn’t sure he’d be receptive to a hug. 

Not knowing what to do with her hands, Karen gripped the strap of the messenger bag she’d borrowed from Frank as she came to a stop right in front of Ellison, who was peering at her over his glasses. They studied each other, choosing not to make the same awkward small talk that Karen and Anisha just had. Yes, she looked just the same. Yes, he looked older. Hair a little more silvery and thin, forehead a little more lined, but his eyes were as piercing and insightful as they’d always been, and the small smile crinkling the corner of his eye did more for her heart than a full blown bear hug would do from most other people. 

“Come on in.” Ellison stepped aside so Karen could enter his office.

He closed the door behind himself as Karen took the same seat she always took whenever she was in his office, the middle cushion of his shabby little couch. He was quiet as he rounded his desk and sat down in the same chair that had needed to be replaced five years ago. 

They watched each other in silence for a while. This feeling was starting to become familiar. The feeling of savoring a friendly, contented silence, before diving into a conversation that would pop the peaceful bubble.

“It’s so good to see you.” Karen said. 

“It’s good to see you too.” Ellison said, leaning his elbows on his desk. “Good to see you here. In this office. On my lumpy couch.”

Karen exhaled a relieved little laugh. He really was happy she was here. Thank God. 

“I never got to thank you, for all your help back when-” 

“You don’t need to thank me for that.” He cut her off. 

“Yes, I do, Mitchell.” Karen’s eyes were starting to get hot. “It was right after the attack here, and I know how you felt… I know how angry you were at me-”

“No. Karen stop.” Mitchell held up his hand to cut her off again. “I wasn’t angry at you- it was the whole situation. I wanted the truth. You can understand that.”

Karen nodded. 

“I knew you were in danger, and nothing I could say would get through to you. That was infuriating.” He shook his head, finally giving her a real smile. “But, you know, back then- I was still so black an white.”

Karen blanched. Ellison? _Black and white?_ He was one of the most nuanced, deep thinkers she’d ever met. What did he mean?

Her confusion must have shown on her face. Ellison continued.

“What I mean is, there was a part of me that was still playing by the rules of an old world. Part of me that wasn’t grasping the scale of things. We'd had vigilantes, super heroes, even alien attacks, out in the open - for all to see- for years. But I wasn’t catching on. Your connection to vigilantes scared me, Karen. You were walking in a world that I only looked at from the outside, living in shades of grey that I didn't want to see. So I couldn’t.”

Mitchell searched her face as he spoke, like he was trying to make sure she understood every word he was saying starting a new thought.

“But after the Snap, living in the wreckage of all that… truly understanding my scale, hell- _Earth’s_ scale in the universe…” He took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment. “I see the shades of grey now. All of them.”

Ellison looked Karen right in the eyes. The way he did when it seemed like he could read her thoughts, but Karen felt this time he wanted her to read his.

“I don’t anything about your connection to the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. I definitely don’t understand the thing between you and the Punisher. But I know you. And you have your reasons.” He paused, like he wanted to make sure she was paying attention. “And I trust you.”

Karen felt a coil somewhere in her chest loosen up. Suddenly it was easier to breathe. Suddenly easier to exist.

“I missed you, Karen.”

Karen’s smile made the tears that’d been brimming in her eyes finally fall. She wiped them away quickly, still grinning at her dear friend behind his news desk, looking dangerously close to shedding a few tears himself. She knew, deep in her heart, that this conversation was closed. Ellison was the most honest, forthright man she’d ever met. He trusted her. She had him back in her life. For good. And she didn’t need to keep secrets from him anymore. 

The relief and gratitude was overwhelming. It made her want to weep. 

Ellison must have sensed it somehow. He shifted the tone, for both of their sakes. Bless him. 

“So- the story.” He said, his voices completely back to business. “I assume you already have a few angles in mind.”

Karen raked her fingers back through her hair. _Ok. Get it together. Time to prove you still have what it takes to work here…_

“Yeah, actually. I have a few ideas.” 

She quirked her eyebrow at Ellison, already way too eager for his feedback on what she wanted to do. 

Ellison leaned back in his chair, making a gesture with his hand that said. _Go on…_

Challenge accepted. 

“Deputy Director of Stark Industries, Maria Hill.” Karen said, casually as possible. 

Ellison’s eyes went wide, he made a small choking sound in his throat. 

“Jesus, Karen. Right out the gate.” He shook his head, wryly. “How the hell do you think you’re going to get access to Maria Hill? Literally every reporter in the world is trying to a word out of anyone at Stark Industries, or the Avengers- and they’ve all gotten absolutely nothing. It's a complete lockdown. They call all the shots- random press conferences here and there where they don’t even take questions. What’s your plan?”

Karen cringed slightly. “I don’t have it all figured out yet- I just feel like she’s the key. Her perspective would be the right lens for the rest of us to look through. I mean, sure- it would be flashier to try for an interview with King T’Challa or the Hulk. Steve Rogers or Sam Wilson would be incredible interviews, but _they_ would become the story… We need _the story_ to be the story. Maria Hill would be perfect. She’s been there through it all, the rise and fall of SHIELD and the Avengers. It would be better if she’d survived the Snap, then she really would have seen everything…”

Karen trailed off, thinking it over, then shook her head.

“Actually, no- her being Reappeared can still work. Her memories of the situation pre-Snap will be fresh. Do you agree?” 

Ellison quirked his eyebrow, unwilling to give a solid answer. Typical. 

“I think she’s the one, Mitchell. The best angle. A human point of view right in the middle of all of this universal mayhem, right at the heart of it, but still looking in from the outside.” Karen insisted. 

“We don’t know she’s human.” He said, dry.

Karen blinked. “What?”

“I’m just saying… we’re living in a world full of all sort of people who aren’t human. Some of them look human - like Thor. But they aren’t. And almost nothing is known about Maria Hill other than that she’s worked in clandestine organizations all her life.”

Karen stared at him blankly. This hadn’t occurred to her. At all.

“I’m just saying, can’t take anything for granted these days.” He shrugged. “I can see what you want to build with her at the foundation of the story, but I still don’t see how you’ll get access.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “Let me worry about that. But- you like the angle? Really?” 

Ellison nodded, but it wasn’t convincing. He was looking off at nothing, deep in his own thoughts. 

Karen flopped back onto the couch, wishing she could read his mind. “What is it? Tell me.”

Ellison turned his gaze back to her, she could see the machinery working behind his eyes. 

“Karen, I’d imagined you writing something… a little closer to home. Being Reappeared, back in Hell’s Kitchen… what you see, how you feel. You know, a classic Karen Page Letter to New York.”

Karen grinned. That sounded good. Really good.

“I can do both.”

Karen never got herself set up at the freelance table. An intern brought her a laptop, and Karen spent the day in Ellison’s office. She worked on his couch, he at his desk, they spent the entire day bouncing ideas off each other and building the framework for a series of more intimate, personal articles Karen would write while she also pursued her Maria Hill story. 

She felt good. So good. Being with Ellison, working on her craft again. She’d come _home_ again, in so many ways. By the end of the day Karen’s brain was fried, but in that good way where you knew you’d just accomplished a lot. The way your body buzzes, all warm, after a good workout. 

Karen was in the middle of scolding Ellison for _still_ having the same old coffee machine that had been terrible five years ago and was absolutely gross now, when her phone buzzed. It was Frank.

_'I’m here. You ready?'_

Her pulse spiked. Not just because Frank had come to pick her up from work and that was sending little sparkles through her veins for all sorts of hormone driven reasons, but because this was her chance to be brave. To trust Ellison’s word that _he trusted her_. To make a real change. Maybe Reappeared Karen wouldn’t have to be a woman full of secrets and shadows… maybe she could be free. 

_'Grabbing my stuff. Headed down soon:)'_

“Hey Ellison, my friend Pete - the one I’m staying with now - he’s here to pick me up. Could you-” She ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly nervous. “I’d like you to meet him. Will you walk out with me?”

Ellison nodded slowly, looking a little confused, but pleased that she wanted him to meet her friend. Karen hoped to God she was making the right choice. If this wonderful day ended with Ellison being mad at her, or worse- calling the cops… _No. He wouldn’t do that. Even if he was furious. He wouldn’t._

Karen was edgy and nervous as they gathered their things and headed downstairs. Ellison noticed. He asked her what was up. 

“I um- I haven’t ever really gotten to introduce Pete to my friends.” She said, evasively. 

Karen was starting to sweat by the time they reached the ground floor. The gust of wind that hit her as she pushed open the front doors was a relief. 

There he was. Leaning against the wall with his hands shoved in his pockets. Karen could almost say he looked normal, like any other guy on the street… but he didn’t. No other guy had ever made her melt just by the way he shoved his shoulder off the wall and stood up straight the moment he saw her. No other guy ever made her feel weak in the knees just by smiling at her, or better, by biting the inside of his cheek to keep his smile in check.

He lit her up like fireworks. 

Karen beelined for him catching him in a hug that was probably a lot tighter than he expected. He caught her weight easily and rocked back, whispering _Hey._

She didn’t cling to him for long. She pulled away. Her emotions were scattered all over the place. 

Frank could tell something was a little off. He tilted his head to get a better look at her, frowning. 

“You ok?” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. 

She didn’t have time to explain it all to him right now. She just turned to Ellison, who was just a few feet behind her.

As expected, his eyes were pinned on Frank. Ellison was staring at Frank over the rims of his glasses so skeptically that the glasses were about to fall off his nose. Karen gave him a cringing smile. 

“Mitchell, this is… Pete.” She said, hating the waver in her voice.

Frank stiffened, eyeing Ellison cautiously. 

Ellison gave Karen a look that could wilt a flower. She felt her heart sink. But then… he turned to Frank and held out his hand.

 _“Pete.”_ He said, unimpressed.

Karen could feel Frank’s irritation. He shifted on his feet and stretched his neck from side to side, getting into that intimidating Punisher stance that he could still snap into way too quickly. She wanted to stomp on his toes to make him stop, but instead she just elbowed him in the ribs and nodded at Mitchell’s outstretched hand. 

Frank complied with her unspoken request and shook Ellison’s hand, just once, before shoving his hands back in his pockets. 

The air between the two men was tense. 

Ellison gave her another look, and this one made her laugh. It was the look of a dad to his teenage daughter saying _‘This_ is the guy who’s taking you to prom?’

It could have gone way worse. Karen was going to take the small win here.

She couldn’t stop herself from hugging Ellison this time. She felt him give a falsely grumpy huff as she squeezed him.

“See you on Monday, Karen.” He said, giving her one of those little eye crinkles she loved so much. 

An eye crinkle that completely left his face as he tossed another look at Frank. 

“Pete.” He said, in a flat goodbye, and strolled off.

Frank was scowling at the back of Ellison’s head as Karen looped her arm through his and started pulling him in the direction of their train. She felt like she was walking on air. Reappeared Karen was getting to keep all of her favorite people. And none of them were hiding from each other. It was intoxicating- she felt giddy. 

Frank let her tug him down the block but kept looking over his shoulder, still scowling at Ellison. 

“What the hell was his problem?”

“Oh. He doesn’t like you.” She chirped. A statement made slightly confusing by the huge grin on her face. 

Frank’s scowl deepened to the point of actually being adorable. Karen laughed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make him like you.” She said, nearly drunk on her good mood.

She leaned in and gave Frank a little peck on the cheek. His expression changed completely. All the harsh lines left his face, replaced by a shy smile and eyes that searched her face for clues. 

“Seems like you had a good day, huh?” He guessed. 

His low rumbly voice was just magic. It made her feel so…

“Yes. Today was amazing-”

Karen rhapsodised about her day for their entire walk to the train. She knew how giddy she sounded, but couldn’t bring herself to sober up, especially when her mood was making Frank smile and press his palm over her fingers where they wrapped around his arm.

She pestered him with all sorts of questions about his day too, curious to know how the first day in the office with Foggy back had gone. Apparently it went pretty well. Foggy had seemed way less terrified of Frank by around 3pm. 

Karen finally started coming back down to earth once they were actually on the train. The car was crowded. Their conversation came to a lull with so many other people within earshot. Frank and Karen reached up to grab hold of the bar above their heads for balance. They were very close. Karen leaned further into his space, still wanting that contact with him. His eyes were floating all around her face again. She wondered if he was still looking for clues. His free hand rose and rested on her hip. Karen felt the heat of his touch spread through her. Good Lord, he effected her so much. With the simplest things. She knew this was dangerous, the limits they seemed to be testing… 

But she didn’t want to deal with that now. Right now she had his hand on her hip, so she didn’t need to hold onto the overhead bar for stability anymore, she could hold on to him. And she did. 

“Sorry I called you Pete.” She said, low, so only he could hear. 

“Hmmm?” He asked vaguely, not really looking her in the eyes, his gaze was drifting around her hair and neck. 

“You asked me not to call you Pete, but I did with Ellison.”

“Mmm.” He nodded. “That’s ok. It’ll happen sometimes.”

His eyes flickered to hers. 

“But not when we’re alone.”

Karen nodded. The way he said _when we’re alone_ sent a little shiver through her. 

And in this moment, with the way he was looking at her, the way it was making her feel… She couldn’t help that her imagination went to tip toeing into those dangerous places. She couldn’t help wondering what it would be like if things were a little less complicated... Standing this close; with his hand on her, and hers on him. On a train that was taking them home- where they would be alone. Where she could say his name. As much as she wanted. As loud as she wanted…

 _… Jesus._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Friends, 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!! 
> 
> I'm taking on these chapters with the feeling taking a road trip with no map:) I pretty much know where I want to arrive eventually- but the stops we're making and the sights we're seeing are surprising me. Haha- so far I'm enjoying the trip and I hope you are too. This is a volatile time, and I think I let Karen's emotions really spike in several directions in this chapter. I hope that didn't make her feel out of character.
> 
> Thanks again for reading - I'm sending all of you, ALL OVER THE WORLD, my best wishes and hopes for your happiness and health!


	7. Chapter 7

Frank swallowed and sighed. Eun Hye made the best damn cup of coffee in the city. 

The universe had changed forever, the world turned upside down, the city rattled with euphoria and panic, but here at The Kitchen Roast, nothing had changed. Dependable, damn good coffee. Every time. It was a small thing to hold on to, but right now, Frank was feeling grateful for the little things that felt “normal”. 

Karen’s image materialized in Frank’s mind’s eye. He was indescribably grateful for the unexpected blast of her back in his life. Hell,  _ of course  _ he was. His chest tightened. No matter how crazy the world was going to be for a while, having the Reappeared back was a miracle. A blessing. A dream come true. Or, a nightmare ended. Either. Both.

The thing was, over the last few years, his stable routine had become one of Frank’s main coping mechanisms. He’d found a way to maintain some equilibrium. Stability. For the first time since it all went to hell. Yeah, life had gotten a little boring, but who gave a shit. He’d already experienced enough “excitement” for all the nine lives he’d used up. Now, he just wanted to keep his head down and do some good in the world. So Frank kept to himself, and kept his routine. Nice and simple. He’d found a rhythm, and a kind of peace. 

As happy as he was to have Karen back, to have _ all _ the Reappeared back... it created waves in the river he’d been cruising on. Frank felt like his canoe was suddenly being tossed by waves, tipping and unsteady. Like maybe he was heading for a waterfall. 

The goddamn dread. He and Curt had been over this many times over the years- Frank’s “happiness-phobia” as Curt called it. The way Frank always got cagey whenever things were going well, when they started to look too good. Curt said Frank needed to work on it, that it was self-sabotaging and unhealthy.

Frank internally rolled his eyes, remembering how many times his friend hounded him about this. Frank took Curt seriously. Always. But… Curt just couldn’t understand. Frank had his reasons, damn good reasons, for not wanting to rock the boat. For being grateful for a small scrap of peace. For not getting greedy and wanting more. 

Shit. These thoughts were depressing.  _ Enough.  _

Frank wanted to enjoy the normalcy of this perfect cup of coffee. He also wanted to enjoy the normalcy of being here with Curt, planning next week’s group, something they’d done just about every Saturday morning for the last four years.

There had been a few moments, most of them while he’d been home with Karen in his arms, when Frank wondered if they’d cancel the meetings. Afterall, it was a support group for folks who’d lost people in the Snap. Now that everyone had reappeared- was there still a reason to meet up anymore? 

The thought of cancelling the group hadn’t sat well in Frank’s stomach. Luckily, the decision wasn’t up to him. 

Over the last few days Curt and Frank had received texts from almost everyone in the support group saying that they really wanted to continue. Understandable. They all felt the way Frank did. So damn glad to have their loved ones back, but still traumatized and triggered by the Reappearance in all sorts of unexpected ways.

Troy had been in touch several times, and his texts swung from ecstatic to have his mother and sister back, to terrified that he wouldn’t be able to provide for them and worried they’d be disappointed in him. Frustrated that they were all living together in his studio apartment, on top of each other and uncomfortable, and guilty for the frustration. 

Christine had reached out to Curt with that same mix of joy, confusion, and shame. She’d finally made a connection with another woman- and now her wife was back. It was complicated. No way around it. 

Over the last hour or so, Curt and Frank talked through it, coming to the conclusion that the group would continue as planned. They all needed it. But, they’d alter the plans just for this upcoming week. It would be good for everyone to celebrate the Reappearance together. They’d invite their Reappeared friends and family, they’d have a nice time, and the following week- back to normal. Back to routine. Frank liked the sound of that. 

He bit down on his smile, looking across the small table at Curt, who was demolishing the same blueberry muffin he ordered every single time they came here. Frank wasn’t the only one who enjoyed, more like  _ needed, _ a good routine. 

Eun Hye appeared at their table, smiling bright. 

“Here you go, Pete.” She said, setting down the big bag of coffee beans he picked up from her once or twice a month. “Just the way you like them.”

Frank tossed a smile up at her. “Smells great. Like always.”

She beamed at him. “I always save the best of the batch for you.”

Frank huffed a laugh, grabbing the bag of beans and giving it a squeeze. “Thanks.”

She let out a little laugh too, and gave them a ‘see you later’ before heading back behind the counter. Nice lady.

Frank stashed the coffee in his bag. When he looked up, Curt was starting at him with his eyebrows raised, looking smug as shit. 

Frank grabbed his coffee mug, squinting at Curt over the rim in a way that was obviously asking  _ ‘what?’ _ before taking a sip. 

Curt tipped his head, like a big brother about to impart some serious advice. 

“She likes you.”

_ Christ, Curt.  _ Frank rolled his eyes as he swallowed. “She likes that I buy her specialty roast every couple weeks.”

Curt scoffed, shaking his head. “Yeah, she does. But your hipster, coffee snob, patronage aside- she likes you.”

He leaned forward again. 

_ “Likes you. _ Likes you.” He said, like a damn teenager. 

It was Frank’s turn to scoff this time. “Curt, she’s a kid.” 

Curt frowned. “She’s barely younger than Karen.”

Curt burst out laughing as Frank choked on his coffee. 

Frank scowled.  _ Hell.  _ He didn’t like acknowledging that he was about 9 years older than Karen now. It made him feel old.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He grit out once he was finally able to swallow his drink. 

Curt held up his hands in fake innocence. “Doesn’t mean anything. Just saying.”

Frank glared at him across the table. Curt rolled his eyes. 

“Alright, what? Am I not supposed to mention her? Ask about her? When I know how damn much this woman means to you - and you finally have her back? And you  _ live together?” _

Curt got serious in that way he does, where you feel like an asshole if you disagree. 

“Come on man, I’m serious. This is a big deal and I need you to talk to me about it. Karen’s back. You know you need to talk it out.”

Goddammit. Curt was right. As usual. 

Frank scrubbed his hand over his face. He pinned Curt with one last annoyed look even as he nodded.  _ Yeah, I know. _

Curt sat back in his chair, waiting. 

“I’m happy. Out of my damn mind happy. Never thought I’d-” 

Frank didn’t know how to land his thought. It was overwhelming. The way Karen made him feel. The things he wanted to say. The things he wanted to do. And the way it felt like it all might come crashing down if he made the wrong move. The universe had a way of making him pay for being happy. 

“Jesus. I don’t even know where to start. It’s a lot.”

Curt nodded. “It is. So, how about the basics then. Living together. How’s that going?”

Frank didn’t hesitate for a second. This answer was easy. 

“I love it.”

Frank bit the inside of his cheek, just thinking about what it was like to have Karen all to himself. 

“It’s natural. We click. And coming home to her, getting all this time with her… I love it.” 

Curt smiled. “That’s great man. Figured as much. So, you’re good on sharing space? What’s the arrangement? You on the couch?”

Frank tried to look casual, but felt himself fidget. Curt’s eyebrows shot up again. Annoying.

_ “Alright-  _ now we’re getting somewhere. Well, I know you don’t have Karen on the couch…”

Frank scowled. He’d never ask a woman to take the couch while he slept in a nice bed.

“So you’re… sleeping together.”

Frank huffed. “Yeah.”

Curt’s eyes popped wide.

“No. I mean - yeah.” Frank could feel his ears getting hot. “We’re sleeping in the same bed. That’s it.”

Curt’s raised a brow. “Alright. So has anything-”

“No. Christ.” Frank took another sip of coffee, not fully sure why he felt so damn irritated. 

“Why not?”

Frank sighed, leaning his elbows on the table and pinching the bridge of his nose, wishing he had the answer.

“I don’t know. I just- it feels too soon. Or like I don’t have the right. Or… I don’t know.”

Curt leaned in too. “Why are you hesitating, man? You had a reason before-  _ a shitty one- _ but you had a reason. You couldn’t be with her while you were the Punisher. But you’re not anymore. So- what’s the hold up?”

Frank stared into his mug, not finding any good reasons in there. 

“You love her, right?”

Frank looked up at his friend, searching his face. It was more complicated than Curt was making it seem. But still- this question was frighteningly easy to answer. Frank nodded.

“Does it seem like she feels the same?”

In his gut, Frank thought she did. She felt something. But, this was where things got all twisted up.

He’d never been able to talk through this in group, but privately, Frank told Curt everything. About all the secret moments with Karen that had brought him back from the brink. How they’d saved each other. How they’d connected. How she came to the hospital that last time he saw her, and she gave him her heart, and he tossed it away. After he’d heard the story, Curt was quick to say that Karen loved him. That it was obvious. 

Facing his own mistakes over the last five years had been as painful as it had been important, but nothing sliced him open the way this did. Karen had loved him. Had bee _ n in lov _ e with him. He was sure of it. How the hell could he come to her now and tell her he loved her after all this had happened. It was too soon. He didn’t deserve it. He’d fucked it up too much. She needed-

“Hey- hey! I can see you sabotaging yourself right now. Whatever you’re thinking- Frank, you’ve got to stop-”

They both jolted a bit. Curt’d said Frank’s name a little too loud in public. They both looked stealthily around the coffeeshop to see if anyone noticed, but no one was paying them any mind. 

“Brother,” Curt said, low and earnest. “You’re not the Punisher anymore. Now you gotta stop punishing yourself. Karen is back. This is your second chance. Don’t get in your own way again.”

Frank looked into his best friend’s eyes, feeling lost. He wasn’t trying to get in his own way. But he definitely didn’t want to make the wrong move with Karen. She was too important. He couldn’t fuck this up.

The entire walk home, Frank was trying to untangle the knot in his mind, not making much progress. It was annoying to think about all this, especially because the moment he’d get home- he’d see her there and everything would seem so simple. He only got wound up about Karen when he was away from her. Wondering what he should be doing, regretting what he’d done and hadn’t done. When he was with her- so much of that faded away, everything was easy, natural. 

Frank rolled his eyes at himself. Yeah, things were natural when he was with Karen. A little too natural. His head got wound up when they were apart, but when they were close… he was wound up in a very different way. In a way that was just as disorienting. 

It was her. Everything about her. And their proximity. At home, she was everywhere. She touched him any time he was within arm’s reach, and she cuddled with him on the couch, and he woke up every morning wrapped up with her. 

Frank felt the heat rise in the back of his neck just thinking about this morning. Like the last few days, Frank woke up with the amazing feeling of being warm and content and not alone. Karen was draped across him, still asleep. And then her hand started drifting down his chest. She was sleeping, she had no idea, but Frank was suddenly slammed wide awake. He froze, barely breathing. Karen’s hand slid slowly down to the waistband of his sweatpants before floating back up along his side, but the damage was done. Frank was hard as hell. Instantly. He laid there, surprised that the sound of his heart banging against his ribs didn’t wake her up since her head was resting right there on his chest. He could barely think through the fog of how turned on he was. He tried not to move, but his twitchy restlessness woke Karen up, and he was greeted once again with her beautiful sleepy smile and blinking eyes. 

Frank got out of there as quickly as he could, hot stepping it to the bathroom.

The moment he stepped into the shower his hand went to his dick. Christ, he was so hard. Frank hadn’t so much as bothered with his dick in so long, and now here he was jerking off in the shower, hot as hell from the slightest brush of Karen’s hand. 

Except, it wasn’t just the brush of her hand. It was how she was making him feel- all the time. Frank’s imagination stirred up into a storm of all the things he’d tried to stop himself from thinking about over the last few days. All at once he was imagining Karen, wrapped around him in bed, smiling as she woke up. But instead of rushing away, Frank rolled over and pinned her to the mattress. He tasted the skin of her neck and they writhed together until she was moaning, begging him. And suddenly they were in the kitchen. He had her up on the kitchen island, those long legs wrapped around him so tight. He was bucking up into her, losing his mind with how good she felt and the way she was whining his name louder and higher with her nails digging into his back and it was so damn beautiful. And then she was there in the shower with him, naked and wet and glistening under the water, and she was getting on her knees, biting her lip and looking up and him like-

Goddamn. Frank squeezed his eyes shut. Why the hell would he go and let himself start thinking about that when he was on his way home?  _ Jackass. Cool off. _

Frank shook his head, looking up, surprised to see he was already so close to the apartment. Deep inside his own mind, Frank had barely registered how fast he’d been walking. He was standing in front of the drugstore that was only a few blocks from home. He blinked hard, trying to erase the images he’d just allowed to run amok behind his eyelids. Frowning, he looked in through the drugstore’s barred windows for a breath, squared his shoulders and entered. A few minutes later Frank was back on the sidewalk and with his bag now full with coffee creamer, bodywash, and a box of condoms. All purchased with Karen in mind. He knew she needed the creamer and bodywash. As for the condoms… he’d never been a boy scout, but the motto stuck anyway. 

The apartment was quiet when he got home. Too quiet.

He rushed into the living room. She wasn’t there. An electric fear slithered through him for just a moment before he realized he could see light in the hallway. Karen was in the bathroom with the door open. She was here. Everything was ok. 

Frank stretched his neck from side to side as he went to the kitchen to put the creamer and the coffee away, wanting to smack himself. Goddammit, he needed to relax. Karen wasn’t going to disappear. She was  _ back. _ And hell, even if she wasn’t here- that didn’t mean anything was wrong. She had her own life. She could be out running errands or whatever. He needed to knock it off with the panic every time she wasn’t in his line of sight. 

Frustrated, he slapped the kitchen cabinet closed, making a racket.

“Hey, Frank!” Karen called, from the bathroom. 

The sound of her voice instantly helped his nerves, but his pulse was still up. He wandered over to the open bathroom door and leaned in. She was standing in front of the mirror putting her hair up in a ponytail. So damn pretty. Frank watched her fingers rake back her blonde tresses, exposing the curve of her neck. 

He couldn’t help the way his eyes wandered. She was wearing more of Sarah Lieberman’s stuff. Stretchy, athleticwear that would have been tight anyway, but because Sarah was a bit smaller than Karen, the dark blue tank top and matching pants clung to Karen like a second skin. Frank swallowed back a groan at the sight of her. How the hell was he even supposed to think straight when she was walking around the house in that? His gaze drifted lower, to her ass, so perfe-

“I’m almost ready.”

Frank’s eyes snapped up to Karen’s where she was smiling at him in the mirror. 

“Take your time.” He said, through a dry throat, hoping she hadn’t caught him ogling her. 

They held each other’s gaze in the mirror. She was smiling so sweet. Frank could feel his skin getting goosebumps. What the hell was his problem today? 

He distracted himself by digging into his bag and pulling out the body wash. He dared a few steps closer, holding out the bottle so she could look it over. 

“I got this- is it ok?” 

Karen finished her ponytail and glanced over her shoulder at the bottle. Her eyes lit up.

“That’s perfect. Thank you!”

Frank gave her a jerky nod and walked past her to set the body wash in the shower. When he turned back around she was rubbing some sort of lotion into her face and neck. He couldn’t help the way he watched her in the mirror for a while. Because he wasn’t just watching  _ her _ in the mirror, he was watching  _ them _ . They were in the bathroom together, because they lived together. And it was amazing. And it felt so good. And he was going to get to have this all the time. 

Unless he did something to fuck it up. 

The thought slapped him in the face. He left the bathroom and crossed the little hallway to the bedroom, quickly transfering the condoms from his bag to the drawer of his bedside table like they were some sort of dirty secret. Frank sat on the bed, almost wanting to laugh with how riled up Karen Page was able to get him without even trying. He hadn’t felt like this in so damn long. 

She appeared in the doorway, shrugging on a little jacket. The look on her face told him she had something to say. Frank tipped his chin up at her.  _ What is it?  _

She stood there, studying him for a moment before sagging against the door jamb. What was going on in that mind of hers? 

“Ok. I know we’ve been over this- and I’m so happy that we’re going shopping so I can finally get some of the stuff I need, but…” She tilted her head, looking at him in a wry, defeated way. “It just feels so weird to ask you to buy me so much stuff.”

Frank snorted at that. She was right. They had been over this. Many times. 

He got up off the bed and walked over to her, stepping right up into her space. He never had much of a height advantage on her, but right now he had more of an edge, as she was barefoot and he had his boots on.

“You didn’t ask. I offered.” He said, serious. Like that sealed the deal.

Karen rolled her eyes. “I know. But still.”

He had to laugh. Goddammit. His Punisher glare had never worked on her before. Why would it start working now? 

“I want to do this for you. I want to get you set up. You know that.” Frank said, ducking his head to catch her eyes. “You said you’d let me take care of you.”

She sighed, frowning and still looking like she wanted to wiggle out of this.

“Let me do this.” He said again, hoping that somehow she’d be able to read on his face how much this wasn’t a burden to him. How getting to do things for her-  _ anything- _ made him so happy. “Please.”

Frank watched something shift inside her. She sighed again, but it sounded different than before. The earlier sigh had been exasperated. This one… was nice. He wanted to hear it again. 

“Ok.” She whispered. Blushing again. “Thank you, Frank.”

And a few bottle rockets in the back of his mind lit off and popped. 

…

As much as Frank loved having Karen behind closed doors, all to himself, it was fun to be out in the city with her, too. Who would have ever thought, with so much of their past being illegal, hidden, and secret, that they’d get the chance to walk together out in the sunlight like this? No hiding, no rush. It was incredible. 

Karen just- everything she did made him feel so damn alive. She stayed close, tucking her fingers around his arm as they walked. She kept their conversation quiet, so he had to lean in to hear, but when she laughed, she laughed loud enough to make the people turn and watch. 

Karen turned heads, in general. Frank clocked men noticing her everywhere they went. He didn’t blame them. But still, he didn’t like it. And undeserving as he might be, he couldn’t help the way it made his chest swell to have a woman this beautiful, laughing and smiling like the sun itself, holding on to him as they waited for the traffic light to change. It made him feel proud. Possessive. He pressed his hand over Karen’s fingers on his arm. He felt like an asshole for the touch, for wanting to make some sort of public claim on this gorgeous creature, but he didn’t let go. 

When the light turned green, the pedestrians flooded out into the crosswalk. An over-eager car lurched forward trying to make a quick right hand turn, cutting them off. Frank saw it like it was in slow motion. He spun, pulling Karen out of harm's way, though she hadn’t really been all that close to the danger. 

Karen looked up at him wide-eyed, almost laughing at his over reaction. Frank could feel the tips of his ears starting to turn red. A little from embarrassment, but also because, no matter how often it seemed like he was getting to hold Karen close these days, he still wasn’t used to it. Having her in his arms made him a little dizzy. They stared at each other. Frank felt like she wanted him to say something, do something-

“Watch it!” 

They turned toward the noise. One of the other pedestrians was shouting at the encroaching car.

“Get out of the crosswalk!” The guy yelled, and held out his hand, forcefully snapping at the driver.

The woman driving scowled right back at him, snapping her fingers at him through her windshield. 

Frank rolled his eyes at the short tempered New Yorkers and gave Karen’s arms a squeeze before setting her back on her feet. 

Once they were safely on the other side of the street Karen looked at him.

“Is that a thing now? People snapping at each other?” 

Frank huffed a dry laugh. “Yeah. Some people. It’s kinda like the middle finger. Like ‘Fuck you. Just disappear.’”

“Wow.” Karen shook her head, silent for a moment. “The more I think about it, that’s a really nasty thing to do to someone.”

Frank nodded. “You got that right. The Snap is still too real, no one should take it lightly- use it to hurt people. Some of the folks at group get really triggered by it.”

“I can imagine.” Karen said, pressing her fingers a little more firmly into his bicep. “Speaking of group, how was coffee with Curt today?”

“All good.” Frank smiled. “He’s a pain in my ass, but all good.”

“So, you’re going to keep the support group going?” She asked.

“Yeah. I think we all still need it. A lot has changed. Good stuff-” He said quickly, not wanting her to get the wrong idea for even a second. “Really good stuff. But change is hard, and the trauma doesn’t just go away. People are going to need support processing all of this.”

She smiled. “That’s good. I’m happy for you, Frank.”

Frank felt a little flutter in his chest. The way she said his name. He needed to ask her…

“Actually, when we get together on Wednesday- we’re telling everyone to bring their Reappeared people. To celebrate.” Frank winced, suddenly a little nervous. “I was thinking- hoping- can you come? With me?”

Her smile opened up like a flower. Goddamn. 

“You want me to come?”

Frank nodded.

“Yeah. Everyone is bringing their family, friends.” He swallowed on a dry throat. “Loved ones.”

It was like she was emited light when she said yes. He could barely look at her. 

When they finally arrived at the row of shops where they knew Karen would be able to find most of the things she needed, Karen’s eyes lit up. She pulled up her shopping list on her phone and gave it a thorough look over before she scanned the street again. 

“Ok. Let’s do the fun stuff first.” She said. 

Frank just nodded along. It was all the same to him. He was just happy to be here with her.

Apparently, “the fun stuff” was clothes. Frank gave her space as she shopped, tracking her progress as she piled various garments into big heaps on each arm, he hung even further back as she entered the ‘intimates’ section. Frank found himself lingering near the front of the shop, perusing an odd assortment of books they had on display. The first one that caught his eye was a new book by Shuri, Princess of Wakanda. New technologies and innovations were always coming from Wakanda to the rest of the world, but Princess Shuri preceded any technology with a book release, explaining the tech, the reasoning behind it, and how it was meant to be used. Frank always admired and appreciated the Princess’s words. He owned 4 or 5 of her books. Frank flipped to the end notes and gave a quiet little laugh. As usual, the final paragraphs of the book were a personal reminder from the Princess, that if anyone out there in the wide world ever used her technology for evil, she would make them regret it. Personally. The Wakandans were incredibly peaceful in their diplomacy, but Princess Shuri had an edge to her. Frank had a feeling that if he ever had the pleasure of meeting her, he and the Princess would get along just fine. 

He set down Shuri’s book and kept looking. Frank passed over a few more books that seemed to detail the diets and workouts of various Avengers. The next cover that caught Frank’s eye was a book of illustrations. It seemed like it was all illustrations and computer generated images of Snapped celebrities, imagining what they would have looked like when they got old. Frank shook his head, now they’ll actually get to see if these predictions were anu good. So weird.

“Hey Mr. Moneybags.” 

Frank snapped the book shut, looking over at Karen. She was pressing her lips together on her smile, again looking a little twitchy about having him buy things for her, but not fighting it. He smirked and followed her to the cash register. They both had bags in their hands as they made their way back out of the store, but a mannequin caught Frank’s eye. It was wearing one of those skirts that Karen always used to wear. The kind that fit her waist, hips, and thighs perfectly while still looking so professional, so proper. Frank had always loved those.

“You should have that.” Frank heard himself say. 

His eyes went wide. Hadn’t meant to say that out loud. 

Karen looked at the mannequin. “The pencil skirt?”

Frank nodded, embarrassed. 

“It’s beautiful. But way too expensive.” She sighed. 

Frank frowned. “If you like it you should get it.”

“No- that’s ok- I got a bunch of great stuff I can wear to work-”

“But, did you get a skirt like that?” He cut her off.

She shook her head.

“Then you have to get it. It looks like you.”

“Oh it does, does it?” She said, smiling suspiciously, like he might be teasing her. 

“Yeah. When I picture you in my head, you’re always wearing something like that.” 

Frank felt a little hot behind the neck saying that to her, but the way she blushed made it worth it. 

“It  _ is _ really expensive though.” She hesitated.

“At least try it on.” His eyes flickered to hers. “Please.” 

He saw that little shift in her eyes again. Heard that same sigh he liked so much. 

“I’ll try it on.” 

“And the shirt.” Frank said, pressing his luck and tilting his head toward the silky blouse the mannequin was wearing that looked so classic Karen.

Karen rolled her eyes. But she was smiling too. She took the blouse and skirt to the dressing room, looking at him over her shoulder in an obvious  _ ‘are you coming?’  _ sort of way. Frank followed. 

Sitting on a bench in front of the dressing rooms with all of their shopping bags on the floor at his feet was surreal. This wasn’t a familiar circumstance. He’d rarely gotten to go shopping alone with Maria, he couldn’t really remember waiting for her outside a dressing room like this. But, the feeling he had right now was one he knew well. This was a family moment. It was like he and Karen were a family, just living in this moment. Normal as hell, but extraordinary. The feeling hummed in his skin. 

He’d never take this for granted as long as he lived.

Frank’s gaze rested on the closed door of the little dressing stall behind which Karen was undressing. She was trying on something especially for him, because he wanted her to, and she was willing. Karen’s bare feet caught his eye where he could see them under the gap of the door. She was wiggling. He watched her lift one foot, then the other revealing bare calves. The yoga pants were off. She moved again and he guessed she was stepping into the skirt. He could picture it in his mind’s eye. 

A few moments later the door opened. Karen stepped out with her hands on her hips. She raised her brow asking  _ ‘what do you think?’ _

He couldn’t tell her what he thought. She looked… perfect. Exquisite. The way he always pictured her in his head. The blouse laying on her just perfectly. He wanted to touch it, to feel how smooth it was. The skirt hugged her. He wanted to touch that too, but rather than testing it’s texture, he wanted to feel the way it smoothed over her hips, wanted to bunch it up in his fists…

“We’re getting it.” He said.

Karen laughed, raking her hair back and pinning him with a look that made him nervous for a second that maybe she could read his mind. 

After that first shop, Frank kept orbiting Karen from store to store while she picked up what she needed, a jacket, cosmetics, stuff from the drugstore. He felt like a pack mule following dutifully in her wake, carrying her bags. But he wasn’t complaining. 

Of all the stores they visited, the shoe store was the most picked over. Clearly, Reappeared shoppers had already flooded through and nearly emptied the store. Luckily Karen was still able to find some boots and a pair of casual shoes. 

Frank was stuck as he watched her try on the shoes. For the thousandth time, he wondered why the hell she’d been barefoot in the hospital all those years ago. Frank wanted to ask her about it, but was too much of a coward. He was having too much fun. He didn’t want to risk ruining it by bringing up the past, especially that day. They still hadn’t discussed it. Not really. 

So, he didn’t ask, and he kept soaking up Karen’s smiles and warmth like the undeserving bastard that he was. Eventually everything on Karen’s list was crossed out and they were starving. 

They grabbed a booth in a nearby diner, shoving their bags on the benches and under the table as far as they would go. When their waiter saw all the bags he got a knowing grin on his face and asked who’d reappeared. Karen smiled, raising her hand and fluttering her fingers. 

“Welcome back.” The waiter said, eyes twinkling at her. 

He took their orders and filled them up with fresh mugs of coffee. Frank took a scorching sip. As much of a coffee snob as he’d become, there was a special place in his heart for shitty diner coffee. 

“I read something this morning.” Karen said, as she stirred some cream into her mug.

Frank tipped his chin at her, swallowing.  _ Hmm? _

“It was something about Thor’s people, living here on earth. Like, they have their own country or something?”

Frank nodded. 

“Yeah. New Asgard, up in Norway. It’s kind of like their own country. I think the Norewgian government gave them sovereignty. After the Snap, everyone on earth finally woke up to the stupidity of being obsessed with borders. Finally understood the right way to treat refugees. The Asgardian survivors were essentially welcomed here on earth with open arms.

He shrugged, “Guess that’s a silver lining of the Snap we can be grateful for.”

Karen nodded. “I read a few stories about what happened to them. Completely tragic. I’m glad they’re here with us now.” 

They both took a few sips of their coffee in silence. Contemplating the plight of those god-like people, now here among the mortals. They’ll be good for humanity. In a few generations, people might forget the lessons learned from the Snap, they might start taking it all for granted again, making the same old mistakes. But Asgardians live long. They’ll remember. They’ll steer the ship back on course.

“Thor looks different.” Karen mumbled, almost to herself. 

Frank pressed his lips together so no coffee escaped his mouth as he laughed. She wasn’t kidding. He’d seen a photo of Thor in the paper this morning. The god was looking like the Big Lebowski these days. 

“I saw that.” Frank grinned, squinting his eyes at Karen. “Disappointed? Got a little crush on Thor, Karen?”

She smirked. “Well, I’ll admit- the first time I saw a photo of him, I found myself highly in favor of an alien invasion.”

Frank’s shoulders shook with his silent laugh. 

“But a crush? Nope.” Karen gave him a look over the rim of her mug. “I’ve always had more of a thing for anti-heroes.”

She held eye contact with him as she took another sip of coffee. Frank’s chest got tight, caught between a laugh and a groan. Jesus Christ, Karen. Did she know how it made him feel when she said stuff like that? When she made it so clear that she saw him and accepted him? Hell, it was more than acceptance. She still wanted him. 

He had to break the eye contact, to look away. Again, suddenly afraid that she’d be able to read his thoughts too clearly if he looked her straight in the eyes. When he chanced a glance back at her, Karen was digging into her burger, seemingly unaffected. God, maybe he was reading way too much into every little thing she did.  _ Get it together.  _

As they finished their meals, the waiter surprised them with a big slice of apple pie with two forks. 

“On the house, for the Reappeared.” He said, smiling brightly at her again. “We’re glad you’re back.”

Karen thanked him profusely, blushing, and as the waiter walked away she turned wide eyes on Frank.

“Wow.” She said, and her expression was an equal mix of happy and pouting, that made him smile. 

Karen picked up one of the forks and dug into the pie. The moment it touched her mouth she moaned. Then she was gesturing at him with her fork, wanting him to take a bite. He did. 

Damn. Delicious. Not just the taste. It was a delicious feeling. 

All afternoon Frank had been revelling in this amazing family feeling. Shopping, running errands, carrying Karen’s bags- it had been this amazing reminder of what it felt like to have a family, to be doing life with someone. But this? Sitting in a restaurant with a beautiful woman, low conversation and laughter across a small table, two forks in one piece of pie… this felt like a date. Just like a date. A good one.

Frank wanted to reach across the table and touch her fingers. He wanted to stand first and offer her his hand as she stood up. He wanted to comb his fingers through her hair once she was fully on her feet and press little kisses to her face. But, he didn’t do any of that. He stared at her, enjoyed the pie, and put his fork down at the right moment so she knew he wanted her to have the last bite. 

They had too many bags to walk home, so they Uber’d instead. Once they were home, they headed straight for the bedroom and dumped all of the bags on the bed. 

“So much stuff.” Karen sighed, staring wide-eyed at the big pile of bags. 

Frank gave her elbow a squeeze as he stepped passed her into the closet. Karen went to set up all of her cosmetics and hair stuff in the bathroom. 

Frank studied the closet, thinking through the best way for them both to use the space. He started by taking the majority of his things off the hangers and folding them up. He created new stacks on the previously empty upper shelves. Karen could have the hangers. And the first shelf. 

That done, he moved to the dresser. Frank had never been one to have a lot of “extra” stuff around. It was really easy for him to combine his 4 drawers into 2, leaving the top two drawers for Karen. He was crouched over the bottom drawer, shoving his socks to the side to make more room for his workout clothes when he heard Karen behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. She was standing near the closet, staring at the empty hangers. 

“You made all this space for me.”

It wasn’t a question, the way she said it, but there was something in her voice. She turned and looked at him, her face oddly hard to read.

“And you’re rearranging your drawers to make room. For me.” 

Again, it wasn’t a question. Frank rose to his feet, nodding. He didn’t know what she wanted. He’d get it for her. Anything she asked. But, he couldn’t tell what she-

She took a couple of slow steps toward him, but Frank still felt ambushed by her hug. Karen’s arms wound around his neck. Her body flush against his. His arms were around her pressing her closer. He was pretty sure he heard a breathy ‘Thank you’, somewhere against his neck, but it was hard to hear anything over the sudden pounding of his pulse in his ears. 

Karen held on for a long time. After the initial rush of it, Frank settled back, taking her weight, inviting her to cling to him as long as she liked. She wasn’t crying, but she seemed wound up. Happy but… what was it? Stressed? Whatever it was, he wanted to hold her. Was lucky to be there. To get this prize. Frank wasn’t exactly sure what he’d done right, but he was taking the reward anyway. 

After a long while, Karen relaxed her hold on him and leaned back, wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm. Frank let his hands slide down to her hips, not quite ready to let go.

Karen looked up at him, her eyes electric blue. Frank could almost feel his hair starting to stand straight up.

“Feeling welcome. In a home. It means a lot to me.” She whispered.

Frank nodded, a little dazed. He knew the feeling. 

Karen’s lip was trembling a bit, but she gave him a smile. She leaned forward, pressed a kiss to his cheek. Her lips were fire on his skin. 

Then, with another brief unreadable look, she turned and left the bedroom.

_Goddamn._ He’d do anything for her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Friends,  
> Thanks so much for reading! 
> 
> I'm feeling a little delirious with this one. Is this much fluff even allowed? Am I going to be arrested? Karen has been back for approximately 4 days by the end of this chapter. I'm feeling pretty open handed with this story- allowing myself to explore most of the thoughts that arise- but yes this is just about as much fluff anyone can bare. 
> 
> Thanks for hanging in there with me:)


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